A Creditable Initiative

The Bush administration’s fiscal 2003 budget proposal includes an innovative homeownership tax credit program that would help achieve two national objectives. The Renewing the Dream initiative would jump-start the economy by creating jobs and close the homeownership gap for low-income households, particularly minorities, by increasing the supply of affordable homes.

The program is designed to help bridge the gap be-tween the cost of developing affordable housing and the price buyers can afford to pay. By providing investors with a credit of up to 50% of the cost of constructing a home or re-habilitating an existing property, the program would promote the development of affordable single-family housing in low-income urban and rural neighborhoods.

Restricting the program to buyers whose incomes do not exceed 80% of area median income en-sures that it would help open the door to homeownership for thousands of families most in need.

In his State of the Union address, President Bush said his economic security plan could be summed up in one word: jobs. He also en-dorsed “broader homeownership, especially among minorities.”

By creating jobs and increasing housing opportunities for low- to moderate-income buyers, the homeownership tax credit would accomplish both goals and help lead us out of recession.