NAR Jumps into Tax Reform Fight; MBA Waiting and Seeing; Rates Drift; Industry Agrees on Explicit Guarantee

NAR Jumps into Tax Reform Fight; MBA Waiting and Seeing; Rates Drift; Industry Agrees on Explicit Guarantee

While the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) was fast out of the box yesterday, slamming the newly released Republican tax reform proposal, the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) issued a statement merely acknowledging release of the bill and saying it needed time for a review. It didn't take long. Before the close of business yesterday it released a statement from its President William E. Brown calling the proposed bill "a tax increase on middle-class homeowners" one that "threatens home values and takes money straight from the pockets of homeowners." Brown continued, "Realtors® believe in the promise of lower tax rates, but this bill is nowhere near as good a deal as the one middle-class homeowners get under current law. Tax hikes and falling home prices are a one-two