Extending tax credit for 1st-time homebuyers looking hopeful

WASHINGTON — Senate negotiators reached a tentative deal to extend a tax credit for first-time home buyers, but its passage remains uncertain.

The agreement would extend the existing credit for first-time home buyers, worth up to $8,000, while offering a new credit of up to $6,500 for some existing homeowners, Senate aides said. The reduced credit would be available to all home buyers who have been in their current residence for a consecutive five-year period in the past eight years.

The new provisions are aimed at broadening availability of the credit beyond first-time buyers and giving the weakened real-estate market a bigger boost while preventing real-estate investors from benefiting. 

Many property experts have cited the credit as a reason for signs of recovery in the housing market in recent months. But that recovery was somewhat undercut by the September drop in new-home sales reported Wednesday.

The credit would be extended from its current expiration date of Dec. 1 to all contracts entered into by April 30, and closed before July 1. It is expected that income limits on people claiming the credit would be increased to $125,000 for singles and $250,000 for couples, from the current $75,000 and $150,000, aides said. The credit phases out for people making more than those amounts.

Florida Homebuyer Opportunity Program (FLHOP) effective JULY 1, 09

The Florida Legislature created the state program during the recent legislative session, and it’s part of the 2010 budget effective July 1, 2009. Many details remain sketchy, but Sebree reports the following:

• Money for homebuyers may not be available until the first week of August. Lawmakers funded the program through doc stamp taxes applicable in the new fiscal year rather than through a lump sum commitment; and since today is the start of the new fiscal year, the program won’t be fully funded until the state collects new doc stamp taxes.

• Florida’s downpayment loan program can work with FHA loans. Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) – the state agency that funnels housing money to local housing agencies – received confirmation from FHA that borrowers who access the $8,000 tax credit through a state or local government program may use it to make up the required 3.5 percent downpayment, unlike the FHA downpayment loan program through private lenders.

• Florida’s local housing administrators will oversee the downpayment funds at the local level. (To find the administrator in your area, go to: http://apps.floridahousing.org/StandAlone/FHFC_ECM/AppPage_SHIPLGContacts.aspx   For local housing authorities, the program is similar to the SHIP program (State Housing Initiatives Partnership) with one major difference – the income limits. Currently, SHIP uses Area Median Income (AMI) and those are typically lower, and calculated differently, than the federal tax credit limit of $75,000. The $75,000 for a single income tax filer ($150,000 for joint filers) will be used for FLHOP.

• Realtors can start to promote the program to potential homebuyers. It takes time to close on a home, and local housing authorities should be taking applications now.
 
• FHFC says they’ve trained local administrators on procedures for the Florida downpayment program. Local housing authorities will have flexibility over the $8,000 loan, be able to include penalties, and create a structure dictating how the new homebuyer will pay back the money.

“It’s important to note that this money is a bridge loan to buyers; but once it’s repaid, local governments and housing authorities can keep the money and use it locally for affordable housing projects,” Sebree says. “This is a win/win for them. If the offices seem unwilling to work with Realtors, they probably don’t understand the program themselves yet.”
Contact your local Realtor for more information and to get started on your new home search.

It’s a great time to buy a home!

Although distressed sale properties account for about one-third of home sales currently, activity in the real estate market is up. According to The National Association of Realtors Tuesday “home sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 4.77 million, up from a downwardly revised rate of 4.66 million in April”. Median sales price declined around 16 percent, reflecting an abundance of 1st-time homebuyers looking to benefit from the tax credit, as well as investors picking up great deals. Interest rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.86 percent last month, down significantly from the average rate of 6.04 percent in May 2008, according to Freddie Mac. All indicators lead us to this conclusion: now is a great time to buy a home!

When determining how much house to buy, first consider what you need and then find out what how much you can afford by talking to a lender. Most lenders are looking for mortgage-related payments of no more than 28 percent of gross income, and total debt payments (mortgage, car loan, credit cards, homeowner association fees, etc.) of no more than 36 percent of gross income. Purchase a home where your percentages for mortgage and total debt are much lower than the maximum allowed, and you’ll be much more comfortable.

FishHawk Ranch Sales May/June 2009

Short Sales Are Hot in Tampa

Most of the sales today are short sale or bank-owned properties and there are some incredible deals to be had.  Just visit www.TampaHomeSearch4u.com to see what tremendous pricing is available right now in the Tampa Bay real estate market!  Contact your Realtor today… you’ll be glad you did.

…and my latest short sale property back on the market  can be seen here:  http://108hollytreeln.epropertysites.com/    Check it out!!

Tampa Bay Market Update

 

GREATER Tampa Association of Realtors statistics for February 2009:

• An increase in Home sales from Feb ‘08 to    Feb 09:  813 to 1,120 – 37.7% increase
• A decrease in the average DaysOnMkt: 

                 120 to 102 – 15% Decrease

• A decrease in current inventory: 

                 20,486 to 17,403 – 15% decrease

• A decrease in the number of months of inventory:  25.20 to 15.54 – 39% decrease

 

Although the Average sales price continues to decline,  should the number of sales continue to increase and the amount of inventory continue to decline, our prices should finally stabilize!  Now is a GREAT time to buy!  

Lynn’s Lithia Leverage

Lynn Seevers
Local market statistics for the Tampa Bay Area; Lithia, Florida.  A Master Planned Community South of Tampa and North of Bradenton, FL.
Fishhawk Ranch Market Stats 2009
SOLD	#Homes		Sld Pr/SF
Dec 08	15		$69-159
Jan 09	16		$76-169
Feb 09	11		$76-185
as of 3/25/2009	8		$79-169
PENDING
Mar	12
SS		7
REO		1
ListPrice/SF	$82-134
Apr	24
SS		10
REO		4
ListPrice/SF	$71-136
May	4
SS		3
REO		0
ListPrice/SF	$83-186
Statistics
obtained by L. Seevers from local MLS data. Email for more info:  lynn@tampabayFLhomes.com

Real Estate 2Date

Home sales gains are being found in areas where there is an overabundance of distressed properties – mostly in the former markets where prices rose at a tremendous pace a few years ago. Many first-time homebuyers are now able to afford a home due to the competitive distressed market and still-low interest rates. Almost half of the sales activity last month involved either foreclosure sales or short sales (where the mortgage lender agrees to take less than the loan balance). There’s plenty of foreclosure activity yet to come with increased job losses and homeowners depleting their savings to pay their mortgage. The foreclosure-prevention efforts in Washington may help, but we can likely anticipate thousands of new foreclosures to flood the market in coming months. Hopefullly, those homeowners will contact a Realtor who can spell out the various options before they make a final decision to allow their home go into foreclosure.

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