"What's at stake here is the health and vitality of an industry that employs nine million Americans, generates approximately 70 percent of local tax revenues, serves as a major investment vehicle, and fuels economic activity representing more than one-quarter of GDP," stated Roundtable Chairman Robert J. Lowe, who is CEO of Los Angeles-based Lowe Enterprises, Inc.
According to the Roundtable, an agenda for strong real estate includes:
A long term, public-private solution on terrorism insurance;
Measured federal action on eminent domain;
Banking policy that encourages adequate real estate market liquidity and protects commercial and residential property values;
Reliable policies on capital gains, depreciation, "brownfields" cleanup costs, and other tax policy issues;
An option for federal workers to invest in real estate as part of their retirement plans.
"Real estate is highly sensitive to what goes on in the broader economy as well as other sectors such as finance, insurance, energy, manufacturing and tourism," Lowe continued. "That's why policymakers need to factor in a broad real estate industry perspective as they work on a range of national policy issues."
