Tax Credit Deadline Extension in Jeopardy
Up to 180,000 home buyers will lose their tax credit through no fault of their own if Congress fails to pass an extension to the home buyer tax credit by June 30 when the closing deadline expires.
Included in that number are thousands of home buyers in every state of the union, from 390 in Wyoming to 17,700 in California, according to estimates by the National Association of REALTORS®.
“We are strongly urging the Senate and the House to act quickly to pass this legislation and ease the minds and pocketbooks of these home buyers,” said NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Ariz.
“These are not buyers who just entered into the market. These are buyers who previously met all the qualifications for the tax credit, but find themselves at the mercy of a workflow jam with lenders or other delays such as lapses in the National Flood Insurance Program, Rural Housing Service, and new home construction, and might not be able to complete the purchase of their homes by the current deadline,” said Golder. “It would be a tragedy for them not to be able to complete the purchase in time to claim the credit.”
NAR issued the following state-by-state estimate of the number of home sales that would be delayed beyond the June 30 deadline; numbers are rounded to the nearest 10:
Alabama, 2,590; Alaska, 830; Arizona, 5,440; Arkansas, 2,090; California, 17,700; Colorado, 3,390; Connecticut, 1,770; Delaware, 400; District of Columbia, 300; Florida, 14,830; Georgia, 6,270; Hawaii, 710; Idaho, 1,270; Illinois, 7,030; Indiana, 3,560; Iowa, 2, 030; Kansas, 1,840; Kentucky, 2,540; Louisiana,1,800; Maine, 840; Maryland, 2,630; Massachusetts, 3,930; Michigan, 6,470; Minnesota, 3,760; Mississippi, 1,530; Missouri, 3,600; Montana, 760; Nebraska, 1,110; Nevada, 3,800; New Hampshire, 690; New Jersey, 4,300; New Mexico, 1,160; New York, 9,190; North Carolina, 4,890; North Dakota, 460; Ohio, 8,510; Oklahoma, 2,760; Oregon, 2,090; Pennsylvania, 5,830; Rhode Island, 500; South Carolina, 2,460; South Dakota, 500; Tennessee, 3,910; Texas, 15,340; Utah, 1,130; Vermont, 400; Virginia, 3,890; Washington, 3,190; West Virginia, 940; Wisconsin, 2,690; and Wyoming, 390.
Source: NAR
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
Post-Tax Credit Buyers May Save Money
Missing the tax credit deadline might have seemed like a big mistake to some home buyers, but waiting could have been the smartest thing to do.
Interest rates have fallen so dramatically since April 30th that the typical purchaser of a $350,000 home, financed with a $280,000 mortgage, would have saved a bundle by waiting until May.
At April’s average rate of 5.34 percent, a home buyer would have locked in a 30-year fixed rate loan with a monthly payment of $1,561.82.
The same borrower could have snagged a 30-year fixed rate loan at a rate of 4.625 percent in May and paid $1,439.59 per month.
That’s a $1,467 annual savings. Over 30 years, it’s a $44,003 savings, dwarfing the tax credit.
Source: Informa Research Services (05/26/2010)
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
Buyers Rush to Meet Tax-Credit Deadline
As the federal tax credits come to an end, home buyers everywhere are hurrying to get in under the wire.
But in California the rush has turned into something of a stampede as some would-be buyers try to qualify for both the federal credit and a $10,000 state credit that kicks in Saturday.
As one home shopper tells the Los Angeles Times, “I am looking at properties almost constantly, and it is just kind of a feeding frenzy right now.”
“The stimulus has worked,” says Rick Hoffman, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in San Diego and Temecula Valley. “Buyers are confident that we have seen the bottom of the real estate market and that we are on the way back up.”
Source: Los Angeles Times, Alejandro Lazo (04/30/2010)
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
How to Beat the Tax Credit Deadline
How to Beat the Tax Credit Deadline
It’s not too late for a determined first-time home buyer to take advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit, which expires Nov. 30.
Scott Voak, a San Diego practitioner specializing in first-time buyers, helps potential buyers target homes that can close quickly. To identify those properties without touring them, contact the listing agent with blunt but important questions that aren’t likely addressed in the listing.
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
How to Beat the Tax Credit Deadline
How to Beat the Tax Credit Deadline It’s not too late for a determined first-time home buyer to take advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit, which expires Nov. 30. Scott Voak, a San Diego practitioner specializing in first-time buyers, helps potential buyers target homes that can close quickly. To identify those properties without touring [...]