WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush said he supports measures to keep a housing recession from spilling over into the larger economy.
Bush said he was encouraged by the current rate of inflation and job growth but said "there's no question" the housing market is soft.
He said he is supporting a bill that would extend the reach of the Federal Housing Administration to help more people refinance their homes. "I don't think we ought to be providing bailouts for lenders, but I do think we ought to put policy in place that help people stay in their home," Bush said Wednesday at a news conference.
The president said he is also supportive of a change in the tax code that reduces the tax liability from home refinancing.
As for home prices themselves, Bush said the United States is "going to have to work it out."
"When you got more houses than you got buyers, the price tends to go down," he said. "And
we're just going to have to work through the issue."
