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Home Buyers Hurry to Take Advantage of Tax Credit Before It Ends

By
Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX DFW Associates VI

Home Buyers Hurry to Take Advantage of Tax Credit Before It Ends

Home Buyer Tax Credit, Frisco Homes for Sale

Don't Let the Home Buyer Tax Credit Slip Away

Even current home owners are racing the clock, hoping to find and settle, or at least sign a purchase agreement, on a house before the $6,500 tax credit for qualified repeat home buyers expires April 30, 2010.

According to many current homeowners, it will help make expenses associated with the move ‘a wash.' It will help with moving costs, and with getting their current house ready for sale.

Current homeowners buying a house between Nov. 7, 2009, and April 30 and who have used the home being sold or vacated as a principal residence for five consecutive years within the last eight can qualify for the $6,500. It seems less is known about the repeat buyer credit. This incentive was added when the original $8,000 tax credit for qualified first-time buyers, which expired Nov. 30, was extended.

Houses purchased for $800,000 or less are eligible for repeat buyers. Single buyers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples up to $225,000 may receive the maximum tax credit for both repeat and first-time purchases. The credit decreases for buyers who earn between $125,000 and $145,000 for single buyers and between $225,000 and $245,000 for home buyers filing jointly. The amount of the tax credit decreases as his/her income approaches the maximum limit. Buyers earning more than the maximum are not eligible for the credit. If a binding written contract to purchase is in effect April 30, the purchaser will have until July 1, 2010 to close.

The 2009 credit for first-timers helped jump-start the sagging home market in the summer and fall, data show. Walt Molony, a National Association of Realtors (NAR) spokesman, said two million existing-home sales in 2009 could be attributed to the $8,000 first-time buyer credit. Although it is too early to measure the credit's effect on sales so far this year, Molony said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun believes it will add 1.5 million sales to the tally.

 

Frisco Homes for Sale

Frisco Homes for Sale

The repeat-buyer credit was added to appease builders, who said the original did not offer enough time to purchasers of new houses, which take at least six months to build, to close on them. New homes accounted for only 7% of the tax-credit-based sales, Molony said.

The National Association of Homebuilders' Donna Reichle said, "We hear builders saying they are getting inquiries, but that's all so far. According to our economists, it's way too early," Reichle said. "If you look back at the passage of the original $8,000 credit and impact on housing starts, it took a couple of months, and that was in the spring as well."

Moody's Economy.com chief economist Mark Zandi says the credit will boost sales "modestly," however, by 300,000, with one-third trade-up buyers. "I don't expect the credit to be extended again," Zandi said. "Each time it is extended, it becomes less effective and thus more costly."

Typically, repeat buyers are better off financially than first-timers, so a lot of repeat buyers realize from the start they don't qualify for the credit.  What they do realize, and what is getting more sellers to list, is that they understand that there are plenty of first-time buyers who qualify for the $8,000 credit out there, and they have a much better chance of selling their house and buying a new one than before.

This is also true in the region's new-home market, said Wayne Norris, regional sales manager for Hanley Wood Market Intelligence. "Builders have experienced increased activity in recent months" attributable to the $6,500 credit and "the fact that many potential buyers were able to sell their houses" to those taking advantage of the first-time buyer credit," he said. The sense of urgency to make the tax-credit deadline and fears of rising interest rates will push new-home sales higher in the spring, Norris said.

Want to find out more? http://www.BrokerMyHouse.com

Grant & Tina Howell

214-234-6901 / 972-704-4087

 www.BrokerMyHouse.com

www.MyValueAgent.com

www.MyFriscoBlog.com

About the Author...
This article was provided by Grant Howell, a Nationally recognized Broker and Certified Short Sale & Foreclosure Specialist.  Grant can be reached via e-mail at grant@granthowell.com by cell phone or text message at 214-234-6901. Grant has helped thousands of people buy and sell their home.  For Frisco Texas real estate and homes see www.BrokerMyHouse.com or www.MyFriscoBlog.com. For more info regarding short selling your home, please visit www.MyValueAgent.com.

Specializing in the following Metro DFW areas in Texas: Addision, Aubrey, Carrollton, Castle Hills, Celina, Cross Roads, Farmers Branch, Frisco, Gunter, Lewisville, Little Elm, McKinney, Plano, Pilot Point, Prosper, Providence Village, Savannah & More.

 Do NOT be foreclosed on! Avoid foreclosure. The Bank Pays us to Short Sell your Home.

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If you are in the market for a Home in the Frisco, Little Elm Texas area please let me share my expertise and love of these cities with you.

 ~Tina

Tina Howell, Realtor®

972-704-4087

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Frisco, TX 75034

Proudly serving one of the fastest growing cities in our Nation, Frisco Texas. If you are relocating to the Dallas-area and need help from a professional Realtor, give me a call. Buyer and seller services for Real Estate in Frisco, Celina, Prosper, Little Elm, Plano and the rest of Collin and Denton Counties.

Comments (1)

Larry Bergstrom
Crescent Realty, Inc. Spanaway, WA. - Spanaway, WA
CNE, CRS, GRI

I just found out that active military that have been "deployed" from (not totally sure of the dates) December of 09 to ? get a 1 year extension.  This extension also includes civilians working over-seas.

After you check on the dates, will up contact me?

Mar 19, 2010 02:01 PM