I Believe

Finally the government says the economy is improving. I believe them. My economy is improving. Faith is what counts. If we all believe it is getting better, it will. The “cash for clunkers” program, dumped a billion dollars into a primary sector of the economy in one week. It will dump another 2 billion. I bet that will hit fast as well. This program was an act of sheer genius.

The $8000 tax credit for 1st time home buyers was helpful as well. It is really limited though. We should have a “cash for shacks” program to get rid of some of the junky houses that were built and sold in the recent building frenzy. Many of these homes are built so poorly that they will never be worth what they originally sold for. If they could be taken out of the current inventory some of the strain on the market would be relieved. There are also a lot of homes on the market that are really inefficient. Many of them are rentals.

With property taxes high and rents low, landlords cannot afford to make the needed improvements. If we made the homes more efficient, the tenants could afford to pay more rent. A tax credit or better still a property tax holiday for landlords who improved the energy efficiency of their homes would stimulate the construction business as well as the real estate business.


David Segrest is a REALTOR® in Charlotte NC. His website is http://www.segrestrealty.com His email is david@segrestrealty.com He is also a contributor on Argentina to: http://realestatebloginternational.com/