Jessica Lynch, ABR, Your Lifelong REALTOR

Daily Real Estate News | October 9, 2008
First-Time Buyer Tax Credit: Why Buy Now

The homeownership tax credit that the federal government created earlier this year is a hard-won tool at your disposal to encourage your customers to jump off the fence and get into the home buying market.

When you combine the tax credit with today's continuing low interest rates, large selection of for-sale inventory, and low home prices, many of the pieces are in place for your customers to buy now.

How the Tax Credit Works

The First-time Home Buyer Tax Credit was passed this year as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (H.R. 3221) on July 30 and targets any individual or household that hasn't owned a home for at least three years. Taxpayers can take the credit on their 2008 tax return if they bought their house this year after April 9.

It's worth up to $7,500 and can be taken in a single tax year. Authorization for the credit ends July 1, 2009, so if your customers wait to buy in the first half of 2009 they can take the credit on their 2009 tax return.

The actual credit amount is set as a percentage of the home purchase amount. That percentage amount is 10 percent, so your customers can get 10 percent of the home price credited against their tax liability, up to a maximum $7,500.

Income limits are $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for households. Individuals whose income exceeds the $75,000 limit but isn't more than $95,000 can still take the credit but on a reduced basis. The same thing applies to households earning up to $170,000.

Any house is eligible as long as it's a primary residence and is in the United States.

Buyers Have 15 Years to Pay Back

To help keep the program cost effective for taxpayers, the federal government requires the tax credit to be paid back in small, 6.67-percent increments over 15 years, although repayment will be no more than $500 yearly and payments will not start until 2011. For that reason, some analysts have likened the credit to a 15-year, interest-free loan to help make home buying affordable.

There's one restriction on the type of financing that your customers can use if they plan to take the credit. That restriction is on tax-exempt mortgage financing. That only applies if your clients are using below-market interest-rate financing from a public agency or nonprofit that's funding the loan using proceeds from a tax-exempt mortgage-revenue bond issue. For most buyers, this won't be an issue. It's mainly an issue for low-income buyers using special mortgage financing.

Be a Resource for Clients

NAR Government Affairs has created two helpful documents that you can share with your clients to help them learn more about how the tax credit works. The documents are on downloadable and printable PDFs:

First-time home buyer tax credit chart
First-time home buyer tax credit FAQ

The IRS Web site also offers tax-credit guidance in an article that provides answers to many frequently asked questions.

And don't forget about REALTOR.org, which is a great source for more information on all aspects of the Economic Stimulus Bill passed July 30.

Source: REALTOR® Magazine Online

Click HERE for more information from NAR regarding the tax credit.

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Daily Real Estate News | October 9, 2008
Housing Inventory Tightens in September

The number of homes for sale in the 28 markets tracked by online real estate company ZipRealty fell 1.6 percent in September.

Overall, the September inventory is down 7 percent from a year ago in the Zip Realty-tracked metro markets. Zip's accounting includes only homes listed in multiple-listing services and many foreclosed homes aren't included in those databases.

Barclays Capital estimates there are 811,000 bank-owned homes in the U.S., up from 129,000 two years ago, and predicts that the total will rise 60 percent before peaking late next year.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, James R. Hagerty (10/09/2008)

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Daily Real Estate News | October 9, 2008

Rep. Frank to Banks: Modify Mortgages

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass, sent a letter to the country's largest banks urging them to take a lesson from Bank of America and work with troubled homeowners to restructure loans.

Bank of America, which purchased Countrywide Financial Corp., announced plans this week to spend nearly $9 billion to give troubled borrowers "substantial interest rate reductions, reductions in principal, and waivers of late fees or repayment penalties.'

Frank urged Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Wells Fargo & Co. to follow suit.

"It is essential that every mortgage servicer firmly commit to implement plans for immediate mass modifications based on, or stronger than, the measures Bank of America/Countrywide has undertaken," Frank said.

Source: Dow Jones News Service, Corey Boles (10/08/2008)

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Daily Real Estate News | October 9, 2008

McCain Mortgage Buyout Proposal Rouses Critics

Presidential contender Sen. John McCain stepped into a political hornet's nest Tuesday night when he proposed that the U.S. Treasury department "buy up the bad home-loan mortgages in America and renegotiate at the new value of those homes at the diminished value of those homes."

In subsequent explanations, McCain's economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin said McCain is proposing that the government would buy mortgages from banks and investors at the original value of loan, no matter how inflated that it now appears to be, and then give the home owner a new mortgage at current value at a more affordable interest rate. "Obviously, the taxpayer is on the hook for the difference," Holtz-Eakin said.

Barack Obama's top economic advisor Austan Goolsbee was among those highly critical of the idea. "This proposal, if enacted, would be a massive government subsidy from taxpayers to the most irresponsible banks, including the ones that committed fraud," Goolsbee said, adding, "This proposal would give the taxpayer all the risk, with no gain."

Source: BusinessWeek.com, Jane Sasseen (10/09/2008)

Jessica Lynch

Your Lifelong REALTOR®

Helping to Bring You the Quality of Life You Deserve