A big red, white and blue tour bus rolls into Navy Pier later this week with the message that homeownership matters to individual consumers, society and the overall economy.
After first preaching to and hearing back from the converted Friday, those being real estate agents, the National Association of Realtors wants to connect with consumers at the Chicago Flower & Garden Show on Saturday. Then the bus heads off to stops in Denver and Portland.
This is no simple junket for the realty trade group, which sees homeownership as under fire by the federal government and lenders. It is part of a larger marketing campaign that includes a television commercial that recently aired during “Grey’s Anatomy.”
Last month, after comparing average rents and home prices for two-bedroom homes, Trulia.com declared that buying a home is a better deal financially in almost three-quarters of the nation’s top cities, including Chicago. But Trulia also noted the emergence of a “nation of renters.”
The latest threats to homeownership — a proposal to curb or do away with the mortgage interest deduction and reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are adding to the housing industry’s angst over falling home values, restrictive lending guidelines and now-rising mortgage rates.
Maurice “Moe” Veissi, president-elect of the Realtors association, will be on that bus Saturday at Navy Pier, and he thinks it’s time for consumers to take more of a long-term view.
“Real estate is not a short-term investment,” Veissi said. “It’s not the crap tables, it’s not stocks and equities. I think the consumer is still sensitive to the importance of homeownership in America. They may be thinking this is a better time to rent than to buy, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
According to the Realtors, the personal satisfaction that comes with each home purchase also pumps more than $58,000 into the economy in the form of job creation and consumer spending. Expect to hear a lot more from trade groups like the Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders on key issues.
In his proposed 2012 budget, President Barack Obama called for an across-the-board 30 percent reduction of the itemized tax deductions taken by the wealthy, and that would include the mortgage interest deduction. Even before that, the homebuilders group established a website at savemymortgageinterestdeduction.com to fight any such proposals.
Veissi said he hopes a public awareness campaign about the issue will continue gathering steam.
“I’m concerned that we’re not being as diligent and vigilant as we should be,” he said. “The American public has to recognize how important that mortgage interest deduction is.”
$1 for housing: Habitat for Humanity of Illinois is hoping that a $1 contribution goes a long way toward the development of more affordable housing in the state. That’s because the organization is one of the 13 groups appearing as a tax check-off on this year’s Schedule G of voluntary charitable donations that can be attached to 2010 state income tax forms.
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The voluntary contributions of at least $1, which will lessen a state income tax refund or increase the amount owed, would be used by 30 of the 51 Habitat affiliates that are in good standing to help construct or rehabilitate affordable housing for qualifying families.
If tax check-off receipts don’t hit $100,000 the first year, the organization is dropped from Schedule G next year.
“That’s particularly a critical issue for us,” said Bobbi Burgstone, executive director of the group. “We have to hit that or we’re released from the program. And that happens all the time.”
Potential shift for Stonebridge: SunCal Cos., a California home developer that in June purchased several former Kimball Hill Inc. projects, this month signed a purchase agreement to purchase 47.3 acres at Stonebridge of Lake Bluff.
As conceived by New England Builders, the development was targeted to mature adults. But SunCal and its joint venture partner, The Roanoke Group, may have other plans for the 71 homes they plan to construct on the land that was once part of rail magnate William V. Kelley’s estate.
“The property currently has a 55-and-over age restriction and we may submitting a request to revise this in the near future,” a company spokesman said.