The current economic crisis was built on the housing boom, it only makes sense that we have to fix the housing market before expecting the rest of the economy to recover. Fix the housing market, and you’ll instantly support the retail sector, many service industries, and create a wide variety of jobs.

Buying or selling a house doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Before a house goes on the market, the homeowner will usually make various repairs and cosmetic changes, and spend money with the local home improvement store or hire a contractor (who spends money at the local home improvement store). That homeowner also hires a Realtor and a cleaning crew to give the house a professional shine before holding an open house. He might rent a storage unit to keep clutter and personal items out of the way of potential buyers. He plans to spend quite a bit of his time out in the community while his house is being shown. He knows he can’t just go home and watch TV, so he gets lunch while he’s out, or goes to a movie or museum, or wanders around the mall, where he buys a double-shot mocha among other impulse purchases.

When the house is sold, there are housing inspectors, lawyers, Realtors, the title company – not to mention the seller’s mortgage bank – that all get paid. Then there is the money the buyer will spend on the process of moving into their new home – beyond hiring a moving company, she will also take the opportunity to replace many household staples: towels, sheets, and mismatched Tupperware. Depending on the terms of the sale, she may also shop for major appliances and a backyard playset for the kids. She’ll spend money at the home improvement store (probably the same one the seller supported just a few weeks or months earlier) customizing the house to suit her tastes. During the week before and after moving day, she’ll do her part to keep the local pizza place and various local restaurants in business.

The fact is, people spend money in the community whenever a house is bought or sold. That money strengthens the local economy and generates tax revenue. Right now, there are a lot of families who would like to enter the housing market but can’t qualify for a mortgage they would have gotten easily 6 or 12 months ago. Without those mortgages, the entire cycle grinds to a halt. Houses sit on the market for longer and longer periods of time, and are worth less when they do sell.

To solve this crisis and restart the stalled economic engine, we simply need more buyers. How do we bring more people into the housing market? First, we have to give banks stronger incentives to make loans, especially to the growing number of people with less than perfect credit. Second, we need to convince jittery potential buyers to stop waiting for the market to bottom out (because we won’t know it hit bottom until it starts going up again) and go house-hunting.

In the end, it helps everyone if we fix the housing market. Take a few minutes to contact your state and national representatives and ask them what they are doing to encourage banks to make mortgage loans and to give buyers incentives to purchase.