I believe investors will pull us out of this housing problem. Investors provide affordable options and can single handedly bring home prices up. In addition to the ideas that Kelly has outlined, Congress should look at relieving capital gains and allow for more deductions. Obviously there are lots of ideas and solutions but allowing investors to go back to 10 properties is a step in the right direction.

Investors are an integral part of the U.S. economy in several ways.  Not just the you and me investors who purchase shares of stock through our 401k’s, or the power house investment banks ( of yore ) that gobble up billions of dollars of mortgage backed securities or U.S. Treasuries.  No. I am talking about Real Estate Investors. They can make a market stand up and get noticed in today’s fast paced world (think about the States of Florida or Arizona going up 20% or more yearly in value with second vacation homes on everyone’s mind that doesn’t live there in the early 2000’s).

Real Estate investors are the harbinger of good times.  When investors start buying, you should be too.  They have done the market research, the due diligence that makes an investment profitable.

So it only stands to reason the best way we can climb out of this real estate funk we are all in is by making money easier to obtain for the investor.  Quickly an investor in my mind is someone purchasing a home or multifamily home that will not be occupying the property.  That simple.  And the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA or Fannie Mae) has recently announced that beginning March 1st they will begin accepting applications for investor properties wherein the investor may own 9 other properties with financing on it.  That is BIG news!  Previously, is was 10, but with the mortgage meltdown in 2007 the pendulum swung to a more conservative side and that policy was restricted back to only 3 properties can be financed.  Re-opening the door will allow capitalism reign once more.

One caveat: mortgage cos. (GMAC, Wells Fargo, Chase) have the right to adopt the new rules or not.  We have found them to be very conservative recently due to their pipeline of foreclosures filling up.  While the Government might issue a new ruling, they do have the right to not include that in their underwriting guidelines.  Let’s hope mortgage services are as anxious as we are to kick start our economy and get purchases rolling once more.