Mixed signals on housing

Does the Obama administration think there should be more or less activity in the housing market? Its actions make that a hard question to answer.

The president and Congress have promoted a large tax credit to encourage first-time home buyers.

But the White House is simultaneously proposing measures that could significantly boost the price of a home. That sends mixed signals on the tax credit and undercuts its effectiveness.

The administration says not enough Americans have made their homes as energy-efficient as they should. As a result, it says, homes are using too much energy and emitting too many "greenhouse gases" that supposedly cause "global warming."

So what is the solution? The White House suggests that the cost of financing pricey "retrofits" of homes with energy-efficient doors, water heaters and such should be rolled into a homeowner's property tax bill. It also says the financing of such improvements could become part of the mortgage when someone buys or refinances a house.

There's just one problem: Those measures could raise the cost of buying or refinancing a home. Would-be buyers consider the property tax burden and the monthly mortgage payments when they are contemplating a home purchase. If energy-efficiency upgrades make those costs higher, fewer homes will sell.

With our nation suffering record-high foreclosure rates already, and with high numbers of homes sitting on the market for long periods of time, the last thing house sellers or buyers need is a price increase to depress the market further.

We are not fond of tax credits paid to a few home buyers at the expense of the majority of taxpayers who are not buying homes. But even worse is proposing a direct or indirect tax increase on buyers and sellers of homes.