Loan Programs

Survey Says No. 1 Job for Obama is Keep People in Homes

By Brad Finkelstein

LOS ANGELES-Nearly half of all Americans surveyed for a Move Inc. poll conducted just before the election state the top job for the new president to tackle right away is to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

Traditionally, presidents are measured by what they accomplish in their first 100 days in office. The majority of survey participants said that during that period, President Barack Obama needs to come up with a plan to prevent foreclosures, while 22.7% said making more affordable mortgage credit available and 16% said helping first-time homebuyers should be the priority when it comes to helping homeowners.

Electing a new president, the choice of 28.5% of respondents, edged out a decline in the foreclosure rate (24.1%) and making more mortgage credit available, as the leading response for what people feel will do more to instill confidence in the housing market.

Move president Lorna Borenstein said, "Consumers are looking for an event, like a new president, to ignite their confidence in the housing market. While today's challenging housing market has affected many, findings from this newest survey tell us the American dream of homeownership is alive and strong."

There seems to be a bullish outlook on housing market activity for this year, according to the survey. While only 4.7% of respondents said they plan to buy a home in the next 12 months, that was three time the amount of actual activity in 2008; another 17.7% said they would buy in the next one-to-five years. Over 20% (including approximately 65% of the respondents in the 18-24 and 25-34 age groups) plan to buy a home five years in the future.