This week several thousand Realtors ascended on Capitol Hill to persuade their members of Congress to protect affordable and safe financing for American families and to reform government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Other top issues Realtors carried to Congress are affordable and available property insurance including the National Flood Insurance Program and natural disaster coverage, and enhancing liquidity in the commercial real estate market.

Realtors want both the House and Senate to pass H.R. 5072  that would strengthen the Federal Housing Administration while still allowing access to safe and affordable financing by responsible borrowers. They also pressed legislators to pass H.R. 2483 that would make the current FHA loan limits permanent. The current limit in high-cost areas, set to expire Dec. 31, 2010, is $729,500.

The Senate and House have not yet agreed on long-term flood insurance extensions or program reform. National Association of Realtors is urging that Congress reauthorize the NFIP for five years and bring more certainty into the market, instead of the usual short-term reactive extensions that disrupt the flow of business. Since September 2008, Congress has approved seven short-term extensions and allowed the NFIP to expire twice.

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