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Renters: Owning a Home Top Priority

The ""National Association of Realtors"":http://www.realtor.org/about_nar (NAR) released a survey Wednesday showing strong support for the belief that homeownership is a credible and worthy goal, with 72 percent of renters surveyed agreeing that owning a home remains a top priority.

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The 2011 National Housing Pulse Survey signaled a 72 percent thrust among renters who want to own a home, a marked improvement from 63 percent last year. According to the survey, seven in 10 Americans put a high premium on affordable housing issues, with more than three-quarters saying that a 20 percent down payment would turn them away from a home purchase.

""Despite the economic setbacks Americans have experienced in today's current climate, it is clear that a strong majority still believe in homeownership [sic] and aspire to own a home,"" Ron Phipps, ""NAR"":http://www.realtor.org/about_nar president, said in a statement. ""However, achieving the dream of homeownership [sic] will become increasingly difficult for buyers if they are required to make a 20 percent down payment, which may be a reality for many of tomorrow's buyers if a proposed Qualified Residential Mortgage (QRM) rule is adopted. That is why [realtors] are strongly urging regulators to go back to the drawing board on the proposed rule.""

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Attached to the Dodd-Frank Act, the proposed QRM rule continues to raise concerns among industry leaders and members of Congress, many of whom fear a 20 percent increase in down payments nationally. The ""NAR"":http://www.realtor.org/about_nar said that borrowers would need to postpone homeownership for nine to 14 years in order to save for the down payment alone.

Regulatory authorities such as the ""Federal Reserve"":http://www.federalreserve.gov/, ""FDIC"":http://www.fdic.gov/, and ""HUD"":http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD continue to receive public commentary as public officials debate whether to implement the rule, which passed with Dodd-Frank on the premise that issuers should retain at least 5 percent of the risk from mortgage-backed securities they package and sell.

According to the survey, 51 percent of self-described working class homeowners, together with 51 percent of college graduates, 57 percent of African-Americans, and 50 percent of Hispanic Americans, all beheld the potential 20 percent down payment as one that would have kept them from owning their own homes.

According to ""NAR"":http://www.realtor.org/about_nar, past pulse surveys held Americans reporting that down payments and closing costs present themselves as the biggest obstacles to homeownership, with 82 percent of respondents crediting these as the biggest barriers.

""The MID facilitates home ownership by reducing the carrying costs of owning a home, and it makes a real difference to hard-working American families,"" said Phipps. ""Home ownership offers not only social benefits, but also long-term value for families, communities and the nation's economy. We need to make sure that any changes to current programs or incentives don't jeopardize our collective futures.""

A trade and research group, ""NAR"":http://www.realtor.org/about_nar represents realtors nationwide.

About Author: Ryan Schuette

Ryan Schuette is a journalist, cartoonist, and social entrepreneur with several years of experience in real-estate news, international reporting, and business management. He currently lives in the Washington, D.C., area, where he freelances for DS News and MReport.
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