In an interview with Inside Tucson Business, Cox Golder talked about what she sees as the goals of the association and what she feels she brings to the table.
ITB: What is the agenda of the National Association of Realtors looking forward?
 Vicki Cox Golder |
The main points of the plan submitted to Congress last month include:
• Making the $7,500 first-time home buyer tax credit permanent and extending it to all buyers.
• Making FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits permanent. They are currently at $729,000 but will fall down to $625,000 next year.
• Permanently bar banks from engaging in real estate brokerage and management. There is currently a two-year moratorium on it but that expires next year also.
• Have the government spend $50 billion of the bailout package to buy down the interest rate to 4.5 percent.
This final mark appears to have already been achieved as the Federal Reserve announced last week it would begin purchasing mortgage backed securities from banks in order to stabilize the housing market. They will begin this week purchasing up to $100 billion worth of government-sponsored enterprise debt through auctions.
Cox Golder: “We believe that the key to turning the housing market around is getting these homes in foreclosure or short sales off the market to stabilize this economy. If we can do all those things, that will stimulate the market. That’s what the association is doing to try to make that happen.
“We also are pushing hard for green awareness and development. In that, our primary focus is to make realtors aware of what’s green and what’s not? How can you go to sell a home and have a homeowner tell you it is a green home and not be able to recognize if it really is? We need to have that experience, we need that expertise. At the national convention we had our first green course and we have a green designation. It has been a big thing in Arizona for a while and now it is going national.”
ITB: There is a lot of doom and gloom out there, what are some of our strengths in Southern Arizona?
Cox Golder: “Arizona was one of the high points in the market recently. Nationwide sales went down from August to September but Arizona was one of the markets that had the largest gains in the third quarter over the second quarter, they were up 28.3 percent. They were followed by California and Nevada, of course they’re the states that saw the biggest declines. But the good news is Arizona is starting to see some gains. However, a lot of those gains were foreclosures and short sales getting off the market.”
ITB: With the bailout, banks and financial institutions are getting money, but not lending it. How can we change that?
Cox Golder: “That’s a problem. This has been our issue, Treasury Secretary [Henry] Paulson keeps changing his mind. So far, it has all gone to the banks. We’re arguing, as Realtors, we want to see it hit Main Street. We think this bailout should be going to getting these homes off the market and these loans off the sheets. Until that happens we are going to continue to see a decline in home values.
“But we’re also saying if you don’t have to sell, and you can hold on for six years, you’re going to make money on your home.”
ITB: What do you bring to the table for the National Association of Realtors and what do you hope to achieve by the end of your term?
Cox Golder: “When I first ran in 2003, the market was great. You didn’t have to worry about these market conditions and we kept being told by our old economists that this wasn’t a bubble and it was going to continue. So in 2003, my platform had to do with making sure our grassroots organization was intact. And that we were doing a better job in raising money for our political action notices. And then making sure members respond to calls to action.
“Now, they’re telling me this recovery is going to go on for another three quarters, so till almost the end of 2009. So 2010, which will be my year, will be the year of rebuilding programs and rebuilding our industry if you will. I’m hoping we will be able to get on track with those things I originally was focused on and are still focused on. I want to leave this association with the legacy that I was the one who put NAR on the map with our PAC [Political Action Committee] and our responses to calls to action and our legislative programs were the best there is and that we were the No. 1 trade association on Capitol Hill.”
ITB: What is your biggest challenge?
Cox Golder: “Our challenge is going to be keeping our members upbeat and positive about the industry. And we think we’ve done a good job so far. The morale of the 30,000 realtors who were at the convention in Orlando was just the best I’ve ever seen in probably the worst market I’ve ever seen in 35 years.”
National mortgage leaders offer advise, expertise
Thursday, (Dec. 4), Nova Home Loans will host national mortgage industry leaders Barry Habib and Sue Woodard, from Mortgage Market Guide, to address the root causes of the current financial crisis and how Southern Arizona loan officers can alleviate consumer anxieties and offer individualized solutions.
The seminar will be from 10 a.m. - noon at the Viscount Suites, 4855 E Broadway. Attendance is limited to Southern Arizona loan originators. To make a reservation to attend, call (520) 901-9999 or e-mail info@novahomeloans.com.
Worth noting
• Wal-Mart Stores East LP leased a 32,000 square-foot industrial warehouse at 1800 S. Research Loop from Java Property Investment LLC. Wal-Mart is relocating a storage facility closer to some of its stores and minimize the need for on-site containers. Ron Zimmerman of Bourn Partners represented the landlord. Alex Clark of BD Baker Company represented Wal-Mart.
• LRT Enterprises LLC, doing business as Summit Products by LRT, leased 7,383 square feet n Butterfield Tech Center II, 4650 S. Coach Drive, from EJC Properties. Tim Healy of CB Richard Ellis represented the landlord. Michael Coretz of Commercial Real Estate Group LLC represented the tenant. LRT Enterprises LLC provides kitchen and bathroom remodeling services.
• On Any Moto LLC leased 3,000 square feet in Sunbelt Business Center, 1655 W. Grant Road, from Romo Enterprises Limited Partnership. Tim Healy of CB Richard Ellis represented the landlord. On Any Moto offers men’s and women’s apparel and accessories for motorcycles.
• Foot Fitness leased 1,843 square feet in the Tucson Place Shopping Center, on the northwest corner of First Avenue and Wetmore Road from Larsen Baker. Foot Fitness, specializing on orthotic fitting and finishing, plans to have the store, at 485 E. Wetmore Road, Suite H-109, open in February. Andy Seleznov of Larsen Baker represented the landlord.
• I Know Wireless leased 1,440 square feet of retail space within the Shoppes at Rita Ranch on the northwest corner of Rita and Houghton Roads, from Rita and Houghton LLC. Aaron LaPrise and Brian Harpel, with the Harpel Company Inc., handled the transaction. I Know Wireless has five other locations in Southern Arizona, including two in Tucson.
Submit items for this column to Joe Pangburn at jpangburn@azbiz.com. Real Estate & Construction appears weekly.
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