One Down, One to Go

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, by a 244 to 188 party line vote. In this version, Congress included two points from the REALTOR® Four Point Plan.
The bill contains a number of issues critical to the industry, including the extension until the end of 2009, of last year's Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA
higher loan limits. The proposed legislation also will eliminate an existing payback requirement on the first-time homebuyer tax credit (of up to $7,500) for qualified buyers who purchase a home between December 31, 2008 and July 1 of this year.
Congress elected not to include numerous housing provisions beyond those previously mentioned. Instead, Congress will address housing issues in other legislation next week when the Financial Services Committee meets.
The bill now must go to the U.S. Senate for approval and is expected to be voted on in early February. You can expect many changes before we see a final bill sent to the President.