The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) was pleased that the needs of Americans to stay in their homes and staunch the rising tide of foreclosures was a prominent part of President Obama’s State of the Union address. The proposed refinancing plans that Obama put forward will help struggling homeowners as the market still searches for a way to find its bearings in the current economic climate.

While the NAHB recognized this as a step in the right direction, a number of home builders, including NAHB chairman Bob Nielsen, have concerns that it may not be enough. It is the NAHB’s stance that additional lines of credit should be reopened for builders to both create jobs and further stabilize the housing industry, and, in turn, stimulate the economy. The NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index shows that many metro areas are improving, but without this additional credit, building and recovery will be significantly delayed.

As housing normally accounts for more than 17 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product, it is an important market to focus on for continued recovery. As an example, building a full community of 100 single-family homes creates more than 300 full-time jobs and $8.9 million in federal, state and local taxes that help fund local schools, police and firefighters.

The NAHB is is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 160,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction.  NAHB’s builder members will construct about 80 percent of the new housing units projected for this year. For more information, visit www.NAHB.org.