The American dream of owning a home is alive and well, even as the recession deepens. This was seen in a recent report from the National Association of Realtors. It showed a significant increase in sales of existing, or previously owned, homes, and about half of purchasers are first-time home buyers. Condominium sales are particularly strong. Pending sales are also up.

Those first-timers often make substantial sacrifices to buy their first home, but they consider owning a home to be a key to achieving their personal and financial goals.

Motivation for today's first-time buyers can be found in the new $8,000 tax credit, record low interest rates, and a glut of bargain-priced homes made available by soaring foreclosure rates. Also, first-time buyers often take advantage of special financing plans available to them.

First-time buyers are the primary driving force behind today's increasingly active home sale market.

Q: What is a lease-to-own program?

A: A recent example of a lease-to-own program is being implemented in Atlanta, a concept that could become available nationwide.

The program puts families into renovated rental homes. Half their monthly rent is set aside for up to three years to be applied toward buying the home. At the end of that time, renters will have saved thousands of dollars toward the purchase.

"Our three-year lease comes with a purchase option that gives renters a 50 percent rent credit," said a spokesperson for Pride of Ownership Partners, LLC, the firm offering the program. "Renters may purchase the home at any time during their lease term, and at closing they will get back half of all rent paid over the full term of the lease.

"For example, a renter could lease a fully renovated home at $1,000 a month and get $18,000 at closing. There's no easier way to get started on the purchase of the home. We offer fully renovated, lease-purchase homes with new appliances (side-by-side refrigerator, electric range/oven, dishwasher, microwave oven, washer, dryer), new carpeting, fresh paint, remote garage door opener, new lighting fixtures, and professional landscaping."

Several tenants are participating in the program and interest is growing.

Q: Are mortgage-related regulations being strengthened?

A: In a letter to several political leaders, the Mortgage Bankers Association has proposed tough, new legislation that would establish a federal regulatory framework for mortgage lending to protect borrowers nationwide. The MBA proposes creating uniform national lending standards to replace the current patchwork of state and federal lending laws and suggested establishing a federal regulator to implement and enforce the standards.

"In order to restore confidence in the housing and mortgage markets, we need to ensure that many of the excesses that led to the current crisis aren't repeated," said MBA President John Courson. "For this reason, we are calling on Congress to create a new national regulatory framework to better protect consumers."

Q: What do experts say about the future of the housing market?

A: More leading real estate analysts are taking a cautiously optimistic view of the market. They say we could be close to a significant upturn in home sales.

For example, William Knapp, a noted investment strategist with MainStay Investments, predicts an increase in existing home sales as prices come down. "New home sales may not go up much, given the inventory overhang of foreclosed homes. A bottoming here would be encouraging," he said.

"In coming months, look for a substantial pick-up in sales activity and refinancing on the back of the Federal Reserve-motivated low mortgage rates and the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers. Consumer spending is picking up and will likely exhibit positive growth in the first quarter of this year."

These factors bode well for buyers who have been waiting on the sidelines for the best time to buy a home. This just might be that time.

To find out more about Jim Woodard and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.