Monday, February 16, 2009

First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit




Major modifications are being made to the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The final vote, as of this date, has not been taken. If passed the following changes will be made.

  • Maximum amount of credit will be raised from $7,500 to $8,000
  • No repayment for purchases made after January 1, 2009
  • Applied to all first-time principle home purchases made before December 31, 2009
  • If home is sold within three years of the purchase date the entire grant is recaptured in the sale of the home.
  • Retroactive - The changes will apply to all first-time home purchases made in 2009
If you're not currently thinking of buying your first home, you should be.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Always Darkest Before Dawn


A message from Steve Morris, Founder & CEO of Exit Realty Corp. International from The Exit Recruiter Volume 10 Issue 4:

"Timing is everything. Knowing precisely what to do next in order to progress and succeed is the mark of great leadership. It's also the prerequisite of a sound investment strategy.

At some point in 2009 the bottom of the real estate market will be established and formally announced. I suggest that perfect timing for this would be the end of June. This all-encompassing "line in the sand" would be drawn, of course, as a result of relentless compromise between lenders and borrowers who have heretofore frenzied furiously in the sub prime aftermath. In either case the resident, tenant, customer and client will stop looking down once this stand is taken. Give pause, everyone will then begin looking up.

It goes without saying that when you're sitting on the bottom of a garbage can, there's only one place you can look, and that's up. Then, from the standpoint of strategic initiative, we're all faced with the premise that it's always smartest to buy real estate when it looks its lousiest. Well, come June, just how lousy does it all look? Then again, where is the money going to come from if you did want to buy?

It's true that the lending institutions have flip-flopped from a precariously loose giveaway mode, to a very rigid, unyielding resistance concerning the borrowing public. There's no question taht by mid Spring it will become obvious that their money is not making money and flexibility and availability will revive. This being true, opportunities for investment will abound come the summer and those in the know will seize them.

Chances are that the real estate you buy in the first half of this year will look like fabulous investments three to five years from now. Our directive is to buy in the Spring and wear diamonds. Timins is everything. After all, it's darkest just before dawn. Then a new day begins!"

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The Central Virginia Area Housing Market 2008 Annual Report

The Richmond Association of Realtors released their annual report for the central Virginia area housing market. It was prepared by Lisa A. Fowler, PhD & John McClain, AICP at the George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis using dated collected by the Central Virginia Regional Multiple Listing Service (CVRMLS). The report states:
The Central Virginia region ended 2008 with overall home sales down 23 percent but average home prices down just three percent. The region fared better than other parts of the state in 2008, particularly Northern Virginia. The number of pending sales at the end of 2008, while down from 2007, was not down by as much as sales, indicating a potential for improvement in the first quarter of 2009.
I found the report interesting as it seems to point towards a brighter 2009 while remaining cautious in its optimism. Any thoughts?

Central Virginia Area Housing Market 2008 Annual Report - Synopsis
Central Virginia Area Housing Market 2008 Annual Report - Full Report