The Washington region has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation and was the only metro area to post positive home price growth over the past year, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller home price index. This shows that a growing local economy and healthy housing market go hand in hand.
But as Washington policymakers debate whether to end the mortgage interest deduction and establish a 20 percent down-payment as a national standard, which would have a disproportionate impact on high-cost markets such as ours, they ought to first listen to what the voters think.
A new National Association of Home Builders survey conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and Lake Research Partners found that despite the ups and downs of the housing market, homeowners and non-owners alike consider owning a home essential to the American Dream and support politicians who embrace pro-housing policies and the mortgage interest deduction.
An overwhelming 75 percent of the respondents said that owning a home is worth the risk of fluctuations in the market and 73 percent of renters said that owning a home is one of their goals.
Equally telling, more than 70 percent of all respondents believe the federal government should provide tax incentives to promote homeownership and oppose proposals to eliminate the mortgage interest deduction — a sentiment that cuts across party lines.
In short, voters place a high value on owning a home and consider this to be their best investment. Homeownership is a core value that anchors the middle class and is key to a good retirement.
Lawmakers and federal regulators need to think twice before abandoning policies that have supported homeownership for generations. The calamitous impact on the housing market would be felt not only in the Washington region, but in every market across the nation.
Jerry Howard is chief executive of the National Association of Home Builders.
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