This question must surely be on the minds of many REALTORS that descended on Washington DC last week. With the advent of the new majority in Congress and their hopeful takeover of the White House, what are the general thoughts about the lower capital gains for investors and even the exemptions for the home owner's personal residences.

The REALTORS lobbied successfully a number of years ago for the $250,000/$500,000 exemption in gain on personal residences. But the folks now  running things might like to revert back to old system and tax away the deficit. The gains exemption in my view was the single biggest driving force to the markets we have enjoyed for a number of years. It created more homeownership and personal wealth in a shorter period of time than anything ever in the history of our country. Was that wrong? Would it have been better that less people rather than more captured the American Dream. Because of some unscrupulous lending practices though, real estate ownership is getting the wrap with  a lot of bad press and discouraging many newcomers away from what they should be striving for.

The future looks very uncertain in regards to all the gains of the past 5 or 6 years. If Congress changes their mind about this and decides that new taxation ( eliminating current tax cuts) is way to fund all the deficit and entitlements we REALTORS could experience pain way beyond what we could even dream.  That coupled with the new business models makes our future less than clear. What we need is a united voice to dispel the rumors, focus on the consumers and improve our standings in the community. Instead of being quiet, we may need to raise our voices to defend that which we have always espoused. Home Ownership.