It looks like the presidential candidates are finally paying attention to the housing crisis. In this Tuesday’s State of the Union speech, President Obama touted his settlement with big banking. The settlement would dampen the startling foreclosure rate by giving $25 billion to homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages. Immediately after the speech, White House staffers and the GOP candidates began talking about how to fix America’s housing crisis. Here’s what they had to say.
- Mitt Romney. Romney stuck to his guns in last Thursday’s Jacksonville GOP debate. As president, he would repeal the Dodd-Frank Act, which Republicans believe is preventing the housing market from realigning itself naturally. “Let [the foreclosure crisis] run its course and hit the bottom,” he said. “Allow investors to buy homes, put renters in them, fix the homes up and let it turn around and come back up.” Romney also said that he wouldn’t be opposed to working with banks to renegotiate the mortgages of homeowners in default.
- Newt Gingrich. Newt’s proposal for fixing the housing crisis is simple: he wants to colonize the moon. Yes, we’re serious. The former speaker of the House first advocated repealing the Dodd-Frank Act. “If they would repeal it tomorrow morning,” he said, “you would have a better housing market the next day.” He then advocated lunar colonization as a way to ease the housing crisis while jump-starting the stagnant economy. Former senator and astronaut John Glenn called Gingrich’s space case “optimistic at best.”
- Ron Paul. Although Paul only has 12% of the vote, he’s starting to gain serious support within the GOP as the only candidate with a definite plan to cut government spending. He’s proposing a $1 trillion cut to the budget, including giving the axe to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He also supports repealing the Dodd-Frank Act.
What exactly the GOP contenders would do about the housing crisis isn’t yet fully clear. We’re waiting, but at least they’re beginning to talk about it. Look for the housing crisis to stay in the spotlight throughout the Nevada and Maine primaries, and remember to stop back here for even more tips, tricks and news from the world of real estate.
