The much-anticipated extension to the home buyer tax credit has finally been approved. The Senate's vote yesterday resulted in a 98-0 win and today it was passed in the house. The bill now moves to the President's desk for a final signature. There is no way it will not be signed. First-time home buyers have been eligible for a tax credit of up to $8,000 since last January as part of this year's economic stimulus package. The newly backed program will expand the credit to include existing home owners. This will help people sell their smaller home that is in high demand and move up to the next higher price range. Great news! Under the revised program, those who have owned a home for at least five years will be able to apply for tax credits of up to $6,500 when they purchase their next home. To qualify, buyers will have to sign a purchase agreement by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30. The maximum purchase price on a home will be $800,000 with vacation homes not eligible. Income limitations are $125,000 for single tax payers and $225,000 for joint filers. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) have been lobbying hard for the extension and expansion of the tax credit. NAR claims that so far, about 1.4 million first-time home buyers have qualified for the program and they estimated that 350,000 of these buyers would not have otherwise purchased. I say hogwash. The buyers in this area have bought because homes are now affordable. The tax credit does give them a push to do it now. The tax credit is also set to be extended for another year for military personnel serving outside of the United States until June 30, 2011. Senator Johnny Isakson, who heavily pushed for the extension, along with his own version that would have increased the credit to $15,000 stated, "This is probably the last extension." I think this is also good news since if people understand that the tax credit is over at the end of this extension, Buyers will get out there and find a home. This will help rock this spring’s market!

Mortgage bond prices initially opened positive this morning following relatively bond friendly employment data only to fall back off to near neutral on the day. We still are slightly positive since pricing yesterday morning. Additionally, unemployment came in @ 10.2%, higher than the expected 9.9% mark...a bond friendly figure. This is great news for the market and better news for Home Buyers. This bad news for the unemployed is going to help you get a better deal on a home purchase. Non-farm payrolls fell -190k, weaker than the expected -175k...another bond friendly piece of data. However, the average hourly earnings component rose 0.3%, higher than the expected 0.1% increase and inflationary in nature....not bond friendly. Usually the two headline figures generally outweigh the third component of the report but as we saw this morning volatility still remains. This we do not care that much about, but it looks like rates will stay low and that is what matters. But with this bad unemployment and earnings news, many Buyers will stall and some Sellers will get worried. This is where the savvy Buyers will use the seasonal slow down coupled with the bad news and BUY NOW. Take advantage of this temporary bad news (granted you have job security) and make your move. There are so many factors that say in just 3 years this market will be gangbusters with $79 million: Gen Y coming into 1st time home buying age and the Federal Government blowing up and the Northern Virginia area is still growing. With continued no new housing being built plus we are already in short supply in many price ranges. The market looks great for Home Buyers. Let me make one thing very clear. I am talking about moving up within the market and/or buying home for long term gains, not flipping. I have never believed in flipping homes. I think that if the opportunity presents itself, its fine, but to buy with flipping as the end result is too risky. So if you want to own a home. If you want to create long term wealth. Do not miss the opportunities this market is presenting you.

Senate has reached a compromise on extending and expanding the $8,000 tax credit

The Senate has reached a compromise on extending and expanding the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, a boost the housing industry believes will help it pull out of its two-year-old downturn.

While its passage remains uncertain, the agreement would extend the existing credit for first-time homebuyers, worth up to $8,000, while offering a new credit of up to $6,500 for some existing homeowners, Senate aides said. The reduced credit would be available to all homebuyers who have been in their current residence for a consecutive five-year period in the past eight years. Lawmakers in Washington also raised the qualifying income limits to $125,000 for single taxpayers and $250,000 for joint taxpayers, from the current $75,000 and $150,000, housing-industry sources said. Under the Senate compromise, buyers must have sales agreements in hand by April 30, but they will have until June 30 to go to settlement, said the sources. The measure still faces votes in the full Senate and the House.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan are in full support of the Senate’s proposal to both extend and expand the first-time homebuyer tax credit and called on Congress to approve key housing measures that include the tax credit. "We welcome efforts taken by Congress to extend the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit for a limited period. This credit has brought new families into the housing market and contributed to three consecutive months of rising home prices nationwide," said Secretaries Geithner and Donovan. "In extending the credit, we urge Congress to include strict measures to combat tax fraud and protect responsible homeowners.”

The current tax credit did little for the new-home market in September, the Commerce Department recently reported—news that took many industry analysts by surprise. Sales fell 3.6% from August and 7.8% from September 2008. Industry observers had expected a fifth consecutive monthly increase in new-home sales, believing that the tax incentive for qualified first-time buyers—credited with 357,000 sales of previously owned homes so far this year—would do the trick. Instead, sales of typically more expensive newly built houses slipped. "The decline in new-home sales seems to us to be more a function of the attractive pricing available on resales in the current environment than a reflection of weakening demand," said Michael Feder, president of Radar Logic in New York, which tracks the market.

"Since hitting rock bottom in March, demand is up 20 percent," said Joel L. Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisers in Holland, Pa. For Naroff, the robust rise in existing-home purchases—9.2% year over year in September—indicated that the housing market was not faltering. "Maybe the issue is supply, which fell to its lowest level in 27 years," he said. "Builders, at least those left standing, have been making sure they don't have any houses sitting around, and they have been very successful in controlling inventories."

IHS Global Insight economist Patrick Newport echoed that, noting new-home inventories "sank for the 29th straight month to their lowest level since November 1982." Naroff maintained housing has recovered enough to stand without the tax credit, but Newport said that if the credit were not extended and expanded, housing demand would take a hit, and home sales would drop.

The new provisions are aimed at broadening availability of the credit beyond first-time buyers and giving the weakened real estate market a bigger boost while preventing real estate investors from benefitting. While Senate lawmakers appear to have reached a deal on the substance of the tax credit, they are still at odds over how it would be brought to the Senate floor.

Courtesy: RIS Media, www.rismedia.com

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Casey Margenau & Associates, Re/Max Distinctive Real Estate Receives 2009 Best of McLean Award

U.S. Commerce Association's Award Plaque Honors the Achievement

WASHINGTON D.C., June 8, 2009 -- Casey Margenau & Associates Real Estate/Max has been selected for the 2009 Best of McLean Award in the Real Estate Agents category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA).

The USCA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2009 USCA Award Program focused on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USCA and data provided by third parties.

Casey Margenau and Associates is a residential real estate firm with Re/Max Distinctive Real Estate in McLean, VA. Casey Margenau and his team have been serving home owners within the Northern Virginia area for more than 20 years. Casey has always been an innovator in marketing, offering a Guaranteed Sale Program which allows more up buyers the opportunity to trade their existing home for one of Casey's listings. He was on the first agents to use virtual tours on his home and now is the one of only a few agents to worldwide that uses video walking tours to showcase all the features of his listings. The videos are promoted through his website, www.margenau.com, as well as Youtube and many other real estate websites. Casey also uses social media websites to his clients' advantage by marketing his listings on sites such as Facebook and Twitter. His web marketing is in addition to an extensive print advertising campaign which includes advertisements in Washington Spaces Magazine, Elan Magazine, Luxury Home Magazine and the Sun Gazette Newspapers. The quality of content of his marketing has not only led Casey Margenau to be selected as a Best of McLean winner but as Top Producer in the Northern Virginia area for the last 20 years.

About U.S. Commerce Association (USCA)

U.S. Commerce Association (USCA) is a Washington D.C. based organization funded by local businesses operating in towns, large and small, across America. The purpose of USCA is to promote local business through public relations, marketing and advertising.

The USCA was established to recognize the best of local businesses in their community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations, chambers of commerce and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to be an advocate for small and medium size businesses and business entrepreneurs across America.

SOURCE: U.S. Commerce Association

CONTACT:
U.S. Commerce Association
Email: PublicRelations@us-ca.org
URL: http://www.us-ca.org