“The Administration’s proposed program will help achieve two key objectives laid out by President Bush in his State of the Union Address,” said National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 2001 President Bruce Smith. “First, the program supports the President’s stated goal of ‘broader homeownership, especially among minorities.’ Second, the President said that his economic security plan can be summed up in one word – jobs.”

“Enactment of a homeownership tax credit would fulfill that aim by creating new jobs to help lead the economy out of recession while simultaneously increasing housing opportunities for low-to moderate-income home buyers.”

Modeled after the successful Low Income Housing Tax Credit, the new program is designed to increase homeownership opportunities by helping bridge the gap between the cost of developing affordable housing and the price buyers can afford to pay for a home in many lower-income neighborhoods.

By providing investors with a credit of up to 50 percent of the cost of constructing a new home or rehabilitating an existing property, the homeownership tax credit program would promote the development of affordable single-family housing in low-income urban and rural neighborhoods.

Restricting the program to home buyers with incomes that do not exceed 80 percent of area median income ensures that it would help open the door to homeownership for families most in need – those who now live at the edge of affordability.

The “Renewing the Dream initiative is another step toward achieving the national goal of providing a decent and affordable home for every American,” said Smith.

NAHB is part of the 26-member Community Homeownership Credit Coalition, which supports the Renewing the Dream homeownership tax initiative.