Triad Home Sales Rise 15.5%

Sales

Sales of new and existing homes in the Triad rose 15.5% in the fourth quarter of 2009.  That sounds like a huge increase to me. Must mean it had really tanked before!

Increase in sales the last quarter of 2009 is credited to the low interest rates and the government tax incentive to buyers. The tax incentive was scheduled to end in November so many people who were planning to buy stepped up their efforts to take advantage of that incentive.

This is the first “year-over-year” increase in three years, meaning the first time there has been an increase in sales one quarter compared to the same quarter the previous year. The last year-over-year quarterly increase came in fourth quarter 2006 when sales reached 3,495.

Alamance, Guilford and Forsyth counties had 2,248 sales the last quarter of 2009 compared to 1,946 the same quarter in 2008.   Looking back to 2006, its an increase, but still an increase over a very lean 2008.

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$8000 First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended

$8000 tax credit

The bill, approved unanimously by the Senate late Wednesday and signed by President Obama Friday, November 6, extends unemployment benefits for up to 20 weeks.

It also keeps a first-time home buyer tax credit alive until next spring, and expands it to include some people who already own a house.

The bill extends jobless benefits in all states for 14 weeks, and for up to 20 weeks in states where the unemployment rate is above 8.5%.

The $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers that was set to expire this month is now extended through April 30.

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$8000 Tax Credit Extension?

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 20,2009, before the Senate Banking Committee hearing on the housing market.(AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

As of Tuesday, October 20, 2009, Shaun Donovan, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, told the Senate Banking Committee that the White House hadn’t make a decision on extending the tax credit and was looking at the costs.

Uh, oh. And, guess what? They don’t know what the costs have been so far. Why? Eligible refunds show up on tax returns. Tax filing season doesn’t start until next year. But Donovan said he expects to get cost data in the next few weeks. “We understand the urgency of this situation,” he said.

Guestimates at this time are that it would cost about $1 billion a month to extend the existing credit. This is according to congressional estimates. Cost for a bill to extend the credit to June 30, 2010, is estimated at $16.7 billion. So the government, what, prints more money?

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Owner Financed Homes Qualify for $8000 Tax Credit

$8000 tax credit

There’s a lot of action going on with the $8000 tax credit and we’re getting lots of questions concerning whether or not our Agreement for Deed qualifies.

“Yes”, is the answer! We close with an attorney and submit a HUD-1 with the buyer’s tax return so the return can be amended.

The following comes from the IRS web site:

Q. Can a taxpayer claim the first-time homebuyer credit if the purchase is pursuant to a seller financing arrangement (for example; a contract for deed, agreement for deed, installment land sale contract, or long-term land contract), and the seller retains legal title to secure the taxpayer’s payment obligations?

A. If the taxpayer obtains the “benefits and burdens” of ownership of a residence in a seller financing arrangement, then the taxpayer can claim the credit even though the seller retains legal title. Factors that indicate that a taxpayer has the benefits and burdens of ownership include: 1. the right of possession, 2. the right to obtain legal title upon full payment of the purchase price, 3. the right to construct improvements, 4. the obligation to pay property taxes, 5. the risk of loss, 6. the responsibility to insure the property and 7. the duty to maintain the property. (New 7/2/09)

So, if you’re in a lease-to-own situation, you may be able to give the owner a nice downpayment that enables them to owner-finance and qualify you immediately for the $8000 tax credit.

*Start owning today!

Can the Government save the Housing Market?

Senate

The federal government is beginning to cut back on its support for the private sector. Is it too soon?

Over the past year, the government has intervened heavily at essentially every stage of the home-buying process and the housing market has become very dependent upon the government. In fact, more than 80% of the new residential mortgage loans made this year benefited from some form of government support, according to the trade publication Inside Mortgage Finance.

To keep funds flowing to the housing market, the government bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last year and now basically owns the mortgage finance giants and their $5.4 trillion in loan portfolios.

And to boost sales, the government also is offering $8,000 tax credits to first-time home buyers.

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$8000 Tax Credit is set to expire – Are You Ready?

Cliffvale

Ok, so you want to buy a home, especially now, since you may qualify for that $8000 tax credit.  What should you be doing?  The time is running out so, hopefully, you’ve already started the process.

If you haven’t done so already, contact a mortgage lender or bank to find out if you qualify and for how much.  The lender will pull your credit or have you pull your credit to find out your credit score.  Then, they will evaluate any credit issues you may have and tell you what you need to do to resolve them.  Some issues take months to resolve.

Hopefully, you’ve already been reading the information here about credit and have been working on preparation to buy.

The point I want to stress here is that it will take, on average, 2-3 months to close your loan once you have applied.  Count the days!  The $8000 tax credit is set to expire on December 1 and we are already well into September.  Even if your credit is good, you must hurry and work closely with your lender if you hope to close your loan before the deadline.

Start today.  If you have questions, contact your lender or email me here.  Good luck!

$8000 First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Explained

Tax Credit Can Now be Used for Down Payment!

HUD headquarters

The Federal Housing Administration just announced that it is going to permit its lenders to allow home buyers to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment on FHA insured mortgages. Great news for qualifying home buyers!

Often its the inability to come up with the down payment that stops home buyers. This positive modification to the tax credit should be a big boost to the housing market. Previously, the home buyer would have been unable to access the tax credit until they filed their next annual tax return or an amended 2008 tax return and received the refund from the IRS. Now buyers will be able to use this credit immediately at the closing table.

For more information and to find out if you qualify, go to First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.

Triad Home Sales off 38% in First Quarter

I was just reading an article about home sales in The Business Journal of the Triad. Here’s a synopsis:

The first quarter was rough for real estate sales. There seems to be more interest from buyers now at the beginning of the second quarter. Why? Tax Credits? Good interest rates? Time of year?

In the first 3 months of the year, sales of single family homes dropped 37.6% in Alamance, Forsyth and Guilford counties to 1,598 compared to 2,559 the first quarter of 2008. The median house price fell to $143,000.

What seems to be selling best are homes under $200,000. First time home buyers are trying to take advantage of the $8000 tax credit and low interest rates averaging 4.6% for 30 year loans. About 75% of the homes sold in the first quarter were under $200,000. Many people are buying less than they can afford now that the market has shown them values don’t always go up. Conservative is a buyer’s new caution.

Building permits for new homes fell 51% to 334 this same quarter. There are just too many available vacant properties on the market already.

Has the real estate market hit bottom? Is this a good time to buy? What’s the right answer for you?

Tips for First Time Home Buyers

homedream

Thinking of buying a home in 2009? The time’s never been better. Interest rates are ridiculously low, there are a record number of homes on the for sale market which means you can negotiate a great price and the government is offering an $8000 tax credit if you buy before the end of the year!

We sell our homes mostly through lease options in order to help people who haven’t been able to go through traditional lenders to buy either because they don’t have the down payment saved or they have low credit scores. While they live in our homes, we offer credit repair and give $$$ credits to help residents save their down payment. We also try to guide them through the steps to be able to buy.

Here are some tips we share that you’ll need to know when you’re trying to buy:

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