This Month in Real Estate
November 2009
Commentary
Budding signs of recovery continued last month. The encouraging news arrived in a number of closely followed economic indicators. On Thursday, October 29, the U.S. Commerce Department stated the country’s recession has officially ended, at least as leading data indicates.
U.S. GDP expanded 3.5 percent in the third quarter, the first period of quarterly growth [...]
One in 20 Americans say they plan to buy a home within the next year, and they’re most likely to be 34 years old or younger and living in the South or West, according to a survey released Wednesday.
Roughly a quarter of potential buyers said the No. 1 reason they would buy now is because [...]
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions on the changes to the Homebuyer Tax Credit
Question: Existing homeowner credit: Must the new house cost more than the old house?
Answer: No. Thus, for example, individuals who move from a high cost area to a lower cost area who meet all eligibility requirements will qualify for [...]
The IRS has released IR-2009-083 reporting that about 1.4 million taxpayers have filed (or amended) their 2008 income tax returns claiming the $8000 first-time homebuyer tax credit. This is roughly consistent with NAR’s projections that about 1.8 million taxpayers will claim the credit. NAR also estimates that at least 355,000 of eligible sales would not [...]
Many economists support a bi-partisan Senate bill (S. 1678) recently introduced that would create a six-month extension of the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers and move the current expiration date forward to June 1, 2010.
This is an important next step for maintaining positive momentum toward a recovery in the housing markets and the overall U.S. [...]
Economists: Extend the housing tax credit
WASHINGTON - Sept. 21, 2009 - More than 40 percent of all homebuyers in 2009 will qualify for the federal tax credit, costing the government about $15 billion - twice the original estimate - but most housing experts applaud the policy and favor expanding it.
Now the decision is up to [...]
WASHINGTON - Sept. 1, 2009 - Contract activity for pending home sales has risen for six straight months, a pattern not seen in the history of the index since it began in 2001, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).
The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in July, increased [...]
Team Sumberg with Keller Williams Realty would like to share the long awaited guidelines for the bridge loans offered by the The City of Tampa and the State of Florida to help you become a homeowner. For a very short period, funds are available to help you take advantage of a special federal income tax refund [...]
Nationally, construction of single-family homes rose in July for the fifth straight month, edging up almost 2 percent to the highest level since last October, the government said Tuesday. Building permits climbed nearly 6 percent.
Yay, the overall economy is actually getting a small boost as more buyers walk into model houses ready to sign contracts [...]
Team Sumberg receives questions every day regarding this Tax Credit. Here are answers to some of our most frequently asked questions.
Eight grand, new buyers: The tax credit is equivalent to 10 percent of the purchase price of the home–although it’s capped at $8,000–and applies only to first-time home buyers and principal residences. But unlike an earlier [...]