If you're a first time homebuyer, you've probably heard that Uncle Sam wants to give you $8,000 to buy a home this year. We've been getting a lot of calls about this credit, so I decided to make a short video about the most important thing you need to know about it. Have a look.

17 Homes Active, 2 Under Contract, and 9 Sold in the Last 90 Days

Last week I posted market information for homes $750,000 and up in the Eastport, which you can find here. As you may know, Eastport is the peninsular neighborhood of Annapolis more-or-less circumscribed by Spa Creek to its north, back creek to the south, and the Severn River at its tip.

It's an eclectic neighborhood, with million dollar homes and modest bungalows often coexisting side-by-side - an arrangement that seems to suit the citizens of Eastport just fine, thank you. 

Things are changing, of course. Every year, more and more of the old bungalows are being renovated or torn down and replaced by modern homes. But still, Eastport holds onto its charm and friendly, small town feel.

The Eastport Market in a Snapshot

Of the 17 active properties in this price range, the average days on market is 267, with an average list price of $510,394.

Please note that the average days on market includes one home on Chester Ave that has been listed for 1,222 days. The most recent active listing, on Jefferson St, has been on the market for 6 days.

Two homes are under contract, including one on Moss Haven Court listed at $649,500. It's around the corner from a lovely home we have listed on Boucher Ave.

Average days on market for the nine Eastport homes in this price range that sold in the last 90 days was 164.

Our Boots-on-the-Ground Analysis of the Eastport Market

Of the many areas around Annapolis where we sell homes, the Eastport market is always a big draw. Our open houses here are well attended and buyers come here with the understanding that Eastport is a vibrant, diverse neighborhood featuring unique homes in a wide range of prices.  

Even in the tentative market that we're in, we feel as if the demand for competitively priced homes in Eastport will remain strong.

Sign Up for our Eastport Hot List

Are you watching the Eastport real estate market? Keeping an eye on the homes for sale in Easport? Then sign up for our free Eastport Hot List, from which this data was taken.

Email me at kenhaedrich@gmail.com and we'll set you up to receive automatic email updates each time an Eastport home comes to market, goes under contract or is sold. It's an easy way to keep on top of things.

And if you have an Eastport home to sell, email or call me at 410-507-7222 and I can show you how we use our jumbo marketing toolbox and the latest technology to get our Eastport clients' homes sold.  

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It Doesn't Take a Genius to Read Between the Lines of the Buyer Feedback We've Been Getting Lately 

If you've sold a home recently, you know all about Feedback.

Feedback is the stuff buyers and their agents have to say about your property after a showing - the good, the bad, the indifferent.

Agents being busy - and this being the electronic age - feedback flies back and forth between agents in e-mail snippets. We're lucky if we get a complete sentence from a showing agent. A paragraph is the equivalent of a novel.

Feedback can be useful - if ten would-be buyers complain about pet odors, you know you better do something about it.

It's also a barometer of the market at any given moment in time, and a clear reflection of buyer behavior. Here - with very little exaggeration - is a sampling of feedback we've gotten recently. 

• • Showed buyer 18 condos this weekend. They've decided to buy a farmhouse with 10 acres on the Eastern Shore.
  • They loved the house - it made their Top 15 list.
  • Clients have decided to write an offer on the home if it is still available when they get back from Hawaii this summer.
  • Clients loved the home. They thought it was spacious, bright, had good flow, a nice yard, killer kitchen and master. Met all of their criteria. They want to keep looking.

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This Credit Could Be Your Ticket to Owning a Home in the Annapolis Area

Buried somewhere deep in the 1,000+ pages of the new stimulus bill - also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 - is a little bonus that Annapolis area home buyers should like: a tax credit of up to $8,000.

I say should like because I've been surprised at the number of people who have expressed outrage over not just the credit but the entire package. A few Governors are even threatening to refuse some or all of their shares, on principle, which is fine with me: I'll be happy to take what they don't need.

Getting into the Nitty Gritty of the Home Buyer Tax Credit

I'll save you the trouble of wading through those thousand pages by recapping some of the highlights of the credit below:

• To qualify for the credit, you must have bought a home after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.
• You must be what the law considers a "first time home buyer" - someone who has not owned a principle residence during the three year period prior to a purchase.
• The tax credit is equal to 10% of the home's purchase price, up to $8,000.
• To be eligible for the credit, buyers must meet certain income requirements. Eligibility is based on what's known as your modified adjusted gross income - you'll be asking your tax preparer about that one.
• If you're single, and your modified adjusted gross income exceeds $75,000, the credit will be reduced. For married taxpayers filing a joint return, the figure is $150,000.
• The difference between this and the previous $7,500 credit is that this credit does not have to be repaid. (The other was, essentially, a tax free loan).

Will Annapolis Area Home Buyers Take Advantage of this Credit?

I can't see why first time buyers wouldn't be all over this (perhaps limited) opportunity. Several lenders I've spoken to have already written loans for buyers who are taking advantage of the credit.

One tells me that his borrower is getting gift funds from a relative to purchase a condo; the borrower will then repay the relative when Uncle Sam writes a check after the borrower files his 2009 tax return.

If you're thinking about taking advantage of this credit, email me at kenhaedrich@gmail.com and I'll email you a special free report on the 21 Most Frequently Asked Questions About the New Home Buyer Tax Credit.

If you'd rather, email me your home address, and I'll send you the report and a complete First Time Home Buyer Kit, with everything you need to know about buying your first home.

If you qualify, you don't want to miss this great opportunity. We'd love to help you take advantage of it. Just call me at 410-507-7222 if you have any questions.

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 Talk to Annapolis area homebuyers these days and you'll often hear this: I don't want just a deal. I want a steal! Realtors expect this sort of brash talk from seasoned investors, but more and more we're hearing it from young couples, first time homebuyers, grandmothers and other nice people who often trip over the words, like they're reciting a script that's at odds with their deeper desires.

This inner conflict is understandable: after all, isn't the nightly news a regular smorgasbord of home sale nightmare stories? Aren't there steals now in every town in America?

Maybe - but that's not the point. Shopping only for steals - and overlooking the otherwise good deals - tends to create inner conflict, distort priorties and become a single-minded exercise in the absurd. I know agents who have shown 40, 50 or more homes to steal shoppers who simply can't pull the trigger on a home purchase because there might be a better deal hiding around the next bend. Buyers are now getting buyers' remorse just thinking about buying. It's driving both the buyers and their agents bonkers.

Better Judgement is Often The First Casualty of Steal Home Shopping

It reminds me of a young man I knew who used to be too frugal for his own good. He bought only the lowest priced shirts off the clearance rack - not because they were stylish, comfortable, fit well or otherwise served his needs, but because they were cheap. Consequently he ended up with a closet full of shirts that were so hideous they embarrased even my young children when I wore one to the dinner table, let alone in public. (The last of them went to Goodwill about 20 years ago - the shirts, not my kids.)

Homebuyers Risk Much When They Leave Better Judgement at the Front Door. A Home Should Be Many Things, and Well-Priced is Just One of Them

A home should be comfortable, pleasing to the eye, and well lit. It should have reliable mechanical systems, be convenient to work and play, if possible, and in an area where the new owner can easily imagine the next chapter of her life. It should have trees and bushes you love, enough lawn for that puppy you've wanted, a place to work on your ATVs and other toys, a picket fence or winding flagstone path, a great elevator, coffee shops within striking distance. In short, it should be what you want it to be.

Know what you want in a home and go find it. A good agent will make sure you get a great deal. Be willing to make some tradeoffs; most homebuyers will. But don't sell your homebuyer's soul for the sake of a steal: those few bucks you save on your monthly mortgage will be little recompense for your unrealized home dreams.

Trust me: if you're looking for a great deal in the Annapolis real estate market, we have plenty. Just email me at kenhaedrich@kw.com and tell me what you're looking for. I'll send you a list of everything that meets your needs, and we'll go from there.

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Anne Arundel County Saw 388 Homes Sold Last Month. That's Down 14% From Last September. But The Sky Isn't Really Falling Around Us...

I've been talking to a lot of you lately. Our entire team has. Each and every day, The Moss Haedrich Team calls 20, 30, 40 or more of you to see how you're feeling about the real estate market, calm your jittery nerves, and ask how we can help. Here's what we're hearing from you...

...nobody is buying anything....nobody can get a mortgage now...homes aren't selling...sellers are giving homes away...homes are taking forever to sell...and, in short, the sky is falling and we're all doomed.

Well, we understand the sentiments. The uncertain economy does have everyone on edge and listening to the evening news only amplifies our concerns. But if you look at the statistics you'll see that the current market - while sluggish - is anything but dead. It's not all gloom and doom.

Those 388 homes that sold in Anne Arundel County last month? True, that's less than last September's figure of 453 - but it's far from nothing. On average, those sold homes took 22 days longer to sell than they did last September - but 3 weeks is not the eternity you might suspect if you draw your conclusions from the national media reporting.

October sales for Anne Arundel County are looking okay: in the first 21 days of the month, 211 homes have sold.

Who's Buying Those Homes?

Note that 130 of those 211 homes sold for $350,000 or less. There's no way to prove this, but those numbers suggest that first time homebuyers and investors are busy shopping, as they should be: the smart money is out there right now finding great deals, bargaining, and doing very well, thank you. They know those great deals won't be around forever. 

Which brings us to the subject of mortgages. Every lender we talk to says the same thing: despite what you're hearing, there are plenty of loan programs available for anyone with respectable credit. Expect to put some money down. Expect you'll be required to provide documentation for income and assets - the freewheelin' days of "no documentation loans" are a thing of the past.

Just don't expect the sky to fall anytime soon on the Annapolis real estate market.

If you're wondering if this is a good time to buy, or sell, just email me at kenhaedrich@kw.com and tell me about your circumstances. I'll call, or email back, and help you sort out your situation. Please: there's no reason to step into this market on your own when you can have the benefit of an experienced real estate team on your side.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 at 8:34 am and is filed under Buyers, Neighborhood Sales & Stats, Sellers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.