Democrats Silent about Housing at Democratic National Convention

By Sari R. Updated on 9/7/2012

The Democratic convention on Tuesday night provided an interesting forum for various topics:  small business, education, new jobs and health care.  However, there was one issue that wasn’t discussed:  housing.

While the housing market is rapidly improving, several states are still dealing with a rampant amount of foreclosures.  Obama’s efforts in fighting foreclosure mainly boil down to the Home Affordable Modification Program – this will reduce foreclosures only by 0.48%. 

This past week, legislators met with around twenty real estate trade groups in order to discuss the housing market’s importance.  In these discussions, there was talk about what is hindering the United States about making a full economic recovery:  regulatory confusion, a lack of consumer confidence, and weak capital markets.  An analyst from the National Association of Realtors commented that he feared tax changes that would eradicate the mortgage interest deduction because it could potentially reduce the home values by 15%.  Other analysts commented on the fact that housing should have definitely been mentioned at the convention since it’s a $2 trillion industry.

Wednesday night provided a little more clarity into the housing situation, but not much.  The attorney general of California, Kamala Harris, referenced foreclosures as a direct result of rolling back financial regulation rules.  While there was no mention of loan modifications, Harris did mention the robo-signing settlement of which she claimed her, Obama and 48 other attorney generals stood in support.