Yes, it is official now. Yesterday President Obama signed the tax credit extension and expansion into law! Not only is this great news for first time buyers, but buyers who have lived in their existing homes for 5 out of the last 8 years will also be eligible for up to $6,500 tax credit. Click here for Tax Credit Comparison Chart.
Extension highlights
The first time buyer tax credit of up to $8,000 is extended to April 30, 2010
You must have a signed purchase agreement by April 30, 2010
You must close the transaction by June 30, 2010
Expansion highlights
Current home owners who purchase a home can qualify for up to $6,500 tax credit
Current home owners must have lived in their homes for 5 out of the last 8 years
You must have a signed purchase agreement by April 30, 2010
Even more importantly included in this bill is that unemployment benefits are going to be extended for 20 weeks! With the high rate of unemployment in MI this is good news for many families.
If you'd like to start looking for homes and take advantage of this buyers market in S.E. Michigan sign up for a freeListingbook account and search the mls on your own personal website! Absolutely FREE!
Mike Mitchell - REALTOR ® GMAC The Kee Group Direct: (586)291-2652
If you know an active duty military family or veteran then let them know to head to their local Applebee's Restaurant on November 11th to choose one of the six free dinners especially for them.
If you work with military families this is a great chance to send out a message and be in touch on Veteran's Day.
There isn't much else to say but thank you for all who are actively serving and those who have served our country.
If you would like to know what your St. Clair Shores home is worth in today's market, give me a call to schedule an appointment for a free market analysis (cma). No pressure, no obligation
ST. CLAIR SHORES REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORT FOR OCTOBER - HOMES
There were 64 single family homes that closed in October. One positive thing that I noticed with the past month was bank owned homes made up only 31% of the sales! That is encouraging considering they made up 50 - 75% of the sales earlier in the year.
The official last day for the first time buyer tax credit is still November 30th. The last I heard, the extension for the tax credit has passed the senate but still had to be voted on by the house and signed by the president. Although it looks promising for an extension, anything could still happen.
The highest list price was $334,900 & the lowest was $27,900
The averagesale price of those 64 transactions was $75,186
The average current days on the market was 61
The average total days on the market was 166
Number of canal fronthomes closed 2
Number of lake front homes closed 1
Number of bank owned homes closed 20
Selling Price# of homes
under $50k - 18
$50k - $100k - 36
$101k - $150k - 7
$151k - $200k - 2
$200k - $300k - 1
$400k - $500k - 0
$500k - $600k - 0
ST. CLAIR SHORES MARKET REPORT FOR OCTOBER - CONDOMINIUMS
There were 7 condos that closed in October, equal to Septembers sales
Average list price of those 7 condos was $42,471
The average sale price of those 7 closed condos was $37,000
Average current days on the market 127
Of the 7 sales, list prices ranged from $20,000 to $89,900. There were no high end units sold causing the monthly avg. sale price to drop from previous months. In fact, 4 of them sold for under $30,000
The buyers market continues, which makes it a great time to purchase a home or condo in St. Clair Shores. As of November 3rd, there are currently 336 single family homes for sale ranging in price from as low as $18,000 investor specials to lake front homes just over 1 million. Of those homes on the market 09% or 32 of them are bank owned. There are many homes to choose from, no matter what your price range, now is the time to take advantage of this market, prices will not remain this low forever.
Interest rates are at record lows and there are some great FHA loans available for those that need a lower down payment. In addition there is a 2009 tax credit up to $8,000 for First Time Buyers!
If you'd like to start looking for homes and take advantage of this buyers market in S.E. Michigan sign up for a freeListingbook account and search the mls on your own personal website! Absolutely FREE!
Mike Mitchell - REALTOR ® GMAC The Kee Group Direct: (586)291-2652
If you are in the market to buy or sell real estate in St. Clair Shores or the surrounding Macomb County area, give me a call or email and I'd be happy to assist you. To start searching for homes for sale, sign up for a freeListingbook account.
Mike Mitchell - REALTOR ® GMAC The Kee Group Direct: (586)291-2652
Doesn't that soundgood! It's that time of the year again, time to fall back and set your clocks back 1 hour on Sunday, November 1st.
So after a long night of trick or treating, or other Halloween festivities you get to gain an hours sleep the next day when daylight savings time ends.
This is also a great time to change the batteries in all of your smoke detectors!
If you are in the market to buy or sell real estate in St. Clair Shores or the surrounding Macomb County area, give me a call or email and I'd be happy to assist you. To start searching for homes for sale, sign up for a freeListingbook account.
Mike Mitchell - REALTOR ® GMAC The Kee Group Direct: (586)291-2652
If you are thinking about putting your house on the market this is an excellent post to check out. Home staging can make a huge difference in getting your home sold for the most money and in the least amount of time. Thank you Jennifer Grant for allowing me to reblog this post.
Please take the magnets, pictures and drawings OFF the refrigerator!
As a Mom of 5, I totally understand all the love and special things that are proudly displayed on the refrigerator.
As a home stager, I cringe when people expect to show a property with ALL these things displayed to the potential home buyer. Remove all items from the exterior of the refrigerator. Rather than have a buyer remember all your lovely kids, dogs, great Aunt Sally and cousin Lou along with what sporting events your kids will be at the next month, let the refrigerator blend into the room as part of the space, not an island unto itself. DEPERSONALIZE! You want the potential home buyer to "imagine' themselves in the house and that can't be achieved with your wonderful pictures of the family plastered all the refrigerator. It can also be distracting....after all you want them looking at your gorgeous, clean kitchen, not the photos of your family!
Don't forget home buyers look EVERYWHERE! The refrigerator seems to be the location that attracts some of the ugliest of grime. Yet, it is one of the most important places to keep clean. Make sure you clean and organize your refrigerator disposing of any foul odor foods, wiping down all the ketchup stained bottles and a thorough cleaning, especially if you are including appliances in the sale of your home. Don't forget to wipe down the outside of the refrigerator before showing the home for sale. Your motto should be sparkle and shine!
Replacing appliances in the kitchen will be one of the biggest returns on investment. If the refrigerator is beyond help please suggest to your clients they replace it and any other kitchen appliance that is beyond repair or reconditioning. They should be able to easily recoup the cost or take it with them when the home sales.
Thanks for visiting my site! Please visit often for upcoming homestaging tips and creative ideas!
My friend knows someone that wants to buy my house -
My neighbor has a family member that wants to buy my house -
buyers agent feedback: my client likes your listing and is going to make an offer -
PUT IT IN WRITING!
There's nothing wrong with hearing the above. In fact it's kind of good to hear isn't it? Wouldn't you rather hear positive things about your listing than negative? Sure who wouldn't. My point is I don't want you my seller, my client, getting too excited until I have a purchase agreement in front of me.
Verbal offers mean nothing in real estate. They are just that - verbal.
I've seen the above examples happen many times. Some even had me thinking we were getting an offer but until we have that p.a. in our hands, we do not have an offer. Believe me I want nothing more than to have an offer on your home. That's why you hired me, that's my job as your listing agent - to sell your home!
If you are in the market to buy or sell real estate in St. Clair Shores or the surrounding Macomb County area, give me a call or email and I'd be happy to assist you. To start searching for homes for sale, sign up for a freeListingbook account.
Mike Mitchell - REALTOR ® GMAC The Kee Group Direct: (586)291-2652
This is a reblog from a post Cindy Jones wrote. I thought this was really great news and wanted to help spread the word. Thanks for the info and for the well written post Cindy!
The US House of Representatives overwhelming voted to extend the first time home buyers credit for an additional 12 months to anyone in the military who has served overseas for three months in 2009. In a vote of 416 to zero the bill now has to go the US Senate and the President for final approval.
This extension could give up to 350,000 military families currently deployed overseas unitl November 2010 to take advantage of the current tax credit. In addition the IRS "recapture" rules will be waived for any service member who is deployed and must sell or rent their home.
Known as theService Members Home Owners Tax Act this bill also contains the provision to waive the income tax liability currently in the expanded Department of Defense Homeowners Assistance Program.
The next step for this bill (HR 3590) is for the Senate Finance Committee to review the bill and hopefully move it to a vote in the full Senate.
This seems to be one time that the US Congress, Senate and President should be able to agree. Extending the tax credit for our military is the right thing to do no matter what your political beliefs.
The clock is ticking - 52 days and counting for the first time buyer tax credit. It seems like there's been a surge in activity as many buyers are scrambling to get a home under contract this month.
It can still be done - make sure you have a good buyers agent and a good mortgage representative. Also make sure your Realtor and Mortgage officer are aware that you are trying to close in time for the tax credit. Good communication is going to be the key to success.
In order to claim the first time buyer tax credit, you must close on your home by November 30th, 2009. That means as of today, there is just 52 days left. If you were hoping to take advantage of this tax credit & I'm not trying to panic you, but if you do not have a home under contract right now, you realistically only have 2 - 3 weeks to find a home when you consider it takes 30 to 45 days to close from contract. There is no guarantee that it will close in time, so I would not recommend waiting until the very last minute. Also, Thanksgiving will come into play, where many title company's and lenders will be closed for possibly 2 days.
Do you qualify to receive this credit?
You must be a first time home buyer. First time buyer defined as not having owned a principal residence in the past 3 years
Home purchased must be used as your principal residence
Home must be purchased between Jan. 1, 2009 & Nov. 30, 2009
Max. income of $75,000 for single person & $150,000 for married couples
Must own home for 3 years after purchasing
What's the difference between last years first time buyers tax credit and this years?The 2009 tax credit has been raised by $500. from $7,500 to $8,000 and most importantly, the 2009 tax credit does not have to be paid back, as long as you own the home for 3 year after purchasing.
For more info read First time buyer tax credit FAQ's
If you'd like to start looking for homes and take advantage of this tax credit and buyers market in Macomb County sign up for a freeListingbook account and search the mls on your own personal website! Absolutely FREE!
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
If you know an active duty military family or veteran then let them know to head to their local 
October Statistics 
The US House of Representatives overwhelming voted to extend the first time home buyers credit for an additional 12 months to anyone in the military who has served overseas for three months in 2009. In a vote of 416 to zero the bill now has to go the US Senate and the President for final approval.
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