Before graduating from Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri; I’d had my mind set on my career path which was in real estate! I decided after breaking multiple school and conference football kicking records, to hang up the cleats and focus on handing over keys to new home buyers and game-plan with sellers! In my first full year of working in real estate post graduation; In 2023, I successfully closed on 18 sides totaling $5,355,500 while working with multiple first time home buyers!
As a young home buyer, it might seem overwhelming as you’re given the task to find a real estate agent, mortgage lender, insurance agent, signing paperwork, dealing with the title company, thinking about a downpayment and much more! Of course, while you’re thinking of all these factors, you’re coming up with numerous questions. This is why picking a qualified agent who thoroughly understands and relates to young and first-time home buyers is so critical! When I refer to the words “qualified agent”, I’m not just referring to the age of an agent, I’m referring to experience. Whether 24 years old or 85 years old, selecting an agent who’s completed numerous sales with a similar scenario as yourself; An agent that has numerous reviews from clients about their performance throughout the process; And an agent who can confidently answer your question with clarity, is of the upmost importance.
Communication is one of the strongest traits an agent should have! Time is always of the essence, the clock doesn’t stop moving and there’s multiple parties involved in each transaction that need to stay informed, as-well as yourself, the buyer! If transparent communication isn’t there, it could result in a delayed closing, missed deadlines and losing your earnest money to the seller’s which can be thousands of dollars LOST! In a standard transaction, there can be 5+ other parties that need to know what’s going on at all times and those parties include the title company processor and closer, mortgage lender and underwriter, as-well as the seller’s agent! Other parties can including the inspectors, appraisers, survey companies…and many more! With poor communication, it can be easy for one of the parties to miss important information which could negatively hurt your chances of successfully purchasing your first home! This is why one of the most important factors of selecting a Realtor® needs to be their communication skills!
Selecting an agent with knowledge on the area you’re considering is critical as this is where you’ll be spending the next many years of your life! As a Realtor®, I put a very heavy emphasis on local market knowledge so I can provide my clients with the best resources, knowledge and important information to help guide them through their home buying process! I’m personally a very big fan of charts and graphs so I can show my clients from a visual standpoint where the market is been trending and where it could go from here. Attached to this article bellow, you’ll find a chart referencing where the current trends are for the 5-county core market combined which includes St. Louis County, City of St. Louis, St. Charles County, Jefferson County and Franklin County.
As a 24 year old professional real estate agent, that has successfully closed over 30 transactions totaling $7,600,000+ in the last rolling 12-months ending July 2023, I’ve had the privilege of represented numerous young families and first-time home buyers. I’ve seen multiple different situations and acted swiftly to provide solutions to make sure at the end of the day, you can sign on the dotted line and get keys in your hands on closing day! Communication, market knowledge, in-field experience and connections to other professional vendors outside of real estate are some of the most vital assets to look into when selecting a REALTOR® to work with! I would invite you to follow my Facebook pages, “Tim Branneky, Realtor” to follow along with updates on what’s happening in today’s real estate market! Please subscribe to the St. Louis Real Estate News platform as this is where you’ll find more industry leading news and updates!
At the start of this year, the Missouri First-Time Homebuyer Savings Account program went info effect making it easier for first-time home buyers to prepare to buy a home. This program provides for tax-deductible savings acounts for first-time homebuyers making it easier for homebuyers to save for a down payment by giving them a tax decution for the amount they save. People wanting to save for a home can contribute up to $3,200 per year for married couples and $1,600 for all others. Homebuyers participating in this program will be entitled to a tax deduction on their Missouri Income tax return equal to 50% of the amount they contributed to their first-time homebuyer savings account.
Find out more at HomeBuyerSavingsAccount.com
Just over 1 of every three (34%) homebuyers in 2017 were first-time homebuyers according to the With the growing population of millennials reaching an age where many are buying homes, I expect to see the percentage of first-time homebuyers increase over the next couple of years.
Many first-time homebuyers find the home buying process to be a little intimidating which is largely due to just lacking the experience of having done it before and the knowledge that is gained from the experience. However, with a time spent getting educated on the process, the fears can be calmed and the home buying experience can be a great one for a first-time buyer!
5-Things First-Time Homebuyers Should Do BEFORE Buying A Home…
(the summary is below but you can see the complete report by clicking the link above)
Step 1 Ask a real estate professional if current market conditions make now a good time to buy a home?
The real estate market suffered a blow when the housing bubble burst in 2008 but has now recovered and the talk for the past couple of years has been rising home prices and a shortage of homes for sale. So does this make now a bad time to buy?
Step 2 Ask yourself these 3 questions to determine if now is the right time for YOU to buy?
- Do you want the responsibility? Home-ownership does bring with it the responsibility to care for it and maintain it (there is no longer a landlord to call to take care of things for you); you are responsible for maintaining insurance coverage on the home, paying property taxes, subdivision association fees and, of course, your house payments on time.
- Are you financially ready? DON’T BUY if you have not saved enough money to make a reasonable down-payment, pay closing costs, moving costs, etc., and still have some money left in the bank for “reserves”. Also, make sure your income is adequate to support the house payment you are taking on and if there is any doubt then either don’t buy or buy a lower-priced house, you can always move-up later down the road.
Is your income stable? If you get to this point and feel you are OK and can afford to buy a home, step back and look at the source of your income and consider how solid you think it is.
Step 3 Educate yourself on the market, the process and your rights.
Even though you will be using professionals in your home purchase and, particularly if you follow the advice in this report, will select good ones, you still should educate yourself about the process to give you a better understanding as you go through it. Plus, by knowing your rights and how the deal should go, you will notice when something is not right or you are not be treated properly.
Don’t buy before checking out the resources below:
- MORE, REALTORS Exclusive SMART Guide to Buying your Home This is an informative guide created by us, with the help of many St Louis professionals, that walk you through the home buying process.
- St Louis Real Estate Search -St Louis’ BEST website for searching homes for sale. Updated directly from the MLS every 5 minutes!
- St Louis Market Data Live, online, information and data on the St Louis real estate market, including home prices, sales and whether an area is a buyers or sellers market.
Step 4 Pick a REALTOR® to work with you.
If you think the timing is right for you to buy a home, then the next step is to select a REALTOR® to work with you to help guide you through the process and avoid the “landmines” that are out there. Many buyers want to go it alone for a while and there are plenty of websites out there where you can search for homes for sale from now to eternity, you will save yourself a lot of time and aggravation by simply utilizing the services of a professional REALTOR® from the outset.
7 Questions you MUST ask an agent before choosing one
Step 5 Get pre-approved for a home loan
This step is important for several reasons: One, it confirms to you that you do have the financial resources to buy a house in the price range you are interested in and, two, when you provide the pre-approval letter to the seller with your offer it shows you are not only a serious buyer, but that you should be able to get a loan to buy their house. This gives you a leg-up in your negotiations over a buyer that is not as prepared.
(See The COMPLETE Report by Clicking the Link Below)
5-Things First-Time Homebuyers Should Do BEFORE Buying A Home…
FHA Interest Rate Change: MHDC’s Cash Assistance Loan (CAL) is now 4%! (APR 4.93)
MHDC is raising mortgage interest rates offered to first-time homebuyers. First-time home buyers receive a forgivable 3% cash assistance loan for down payment and closing costs.
Continue reading “Interest Rate Change; St. Louis Mortgage Interest Rate Update“
Annually, the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) conducts a survey of people that bought and/or sold a home in the past year to learn about their shopping habits, what motivated them to do what they did, etc. The NAR “Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers” for 2012 was just released and shows, among other things, that 90 percent of home buyers used the internet in finding the home they bought and, of those, about half used a local MLS site and/or agent/company site.
What’s the best local St Louis website for searching homes for sale? For it’s ease of use, accuracy of content and and relevant information, “one-click” searches and the fact a real, live, professional agent is nearly always ready to respond to questions, I would have to say StLouisRealEstateSearch.com*
Qualified first-time home buyers can receive a forgivable 3% cash assistance loan for down payment and closing costs on a home. The Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) provides a competitive interest rate on a safe 30-year fixed rate 1st mortgage. Your 3% advance loan is treated as a 2nd mortgage completely forgivable after five years of continuous occupancy. New, Constant Funding means MHDC will have the monies available for the borrowers regardless of bond issuance.
For more information about this program,contact me by clicking below.
ARE YOU PRE-QUALIFIED? Have you given much thought to how much of a mortgage payment would be for your dream home?
Should you talk to you mortgage professional before house hunting?
Absolutely! Even if you haven’t so much as selected a Realtor®, it’s important to talk with your mortgage professional first. Why? Continue reading “Successful homeownership is the result of a well informed buyer; St Louis Mortgage rate update“
Not knowing what you can afford – What the lender says you can afford and what you know you can afford may not necessarily be the same. Looking at homes that are outside your price range can put you in the dangerous position of trying to stretch beyond your financial means. Be sure to consider all of your monthly expenses when budgeting for your anticipated mortgage payment. Continue reading “St Louis Mortgage Interest Rate Update; First-Time Homebuyer Mistakes“
First-time home buyers receive a forgivable 3% cash assistance loan for down payment and closing costs.
Program Highlights:
- 3% Cash Assistance Loan (CAL) can be used for down payment and closing costs.
- CAL is forgivable after 5 years of occupancy.
- 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgages & Competitive Rates.
- CAL can be used with FHA, VA and USDA Rural Development loan programs.
- First time home buyer requirement only applies to the last three years.
- Loan is assumable for an MHDC-qualified borrower in an FHA, VA or USDA-RD loan program.
- Eligible owner occupied properties include: Single-Family Detached, Duplexes, Semi-Detached, Condominiums, Town Homes. Continue reading “MHDC’s CAL Cash Assistance loan rate is now 4.5 percent!“
The “State of the Nation’s Housing“ Report for 2011 by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University does not paint a very pretty picture of the housing market, nor does it give us a whole lot to look forward to with regard to the near-term future of the U.S. housing market. Continue reading “Harvard University Report Paints Bleak Picture of Housing Market; Present and Future“
Should you talk to you mortgage professional before house hunting?
Absolutely!
Even if you haven’t so much as selected a Realtor®, it’s important to talk with your mortgage professional first. Why? Continue reading “Should you get pre-qualified for a mortgage before buying a home?“
Missouri Housing Development Commission offers first-time home buyers a forgivable 3% Cash Assistance Loan (CAL) for down payment and closing costs. Terms of this program include: Continue reading “First Time Homebuyer Monies are still available… Why rent when you can own?; St Louis Mortage Interest Rate Update“
Five questions every potential buyer should ask when deciding whether to rent or buy a home
First time homebuyers have a lot to consider this summer when making the decision to rent or buy a home: interest rates are at all-time lows, there’s still plenty of housing stock and prices are at or near their lowest in years. Still, deciding whether to buy a home or rent an apartment can be a complicated decision. How do you know what’s right for you? Potential buyers should ask themselves several key questions before making this important decision. Continue reading “What to do in 2010: Rent or Buy a home?“
Dennis Norman
UPDATE -July 2 – The President has signed the bill into law….It’s official, the deadline is September 30th to close..
UPDATE-July 1- GOOD NEWS! I Stand Corrected! Yesterday, before ending session, the Senate did PASS H.R. 5623 by Unanimous Consent…the bill now goes to the President for his signature and then will extend the closing date until September 30th…
UPDATE-June 30th-Today was the last day the Senate is in session before the 4th of July break and there was no action on this bill…..The Senate is now on recess until July 12th so nothing is going to happen at least until then…. Continue reading “House Passes Bill To Extend Closing Deadline For Home-Buyer Tax Credits“
UPDATE-July 1- GOOD NEWS! I Stand Corrected! Yesterday, before ending session, the Senate did PASS H.R. 5623 by Unanimous Consent…the bill now goes to the President for his signature and then will extend the closing date until September 30th…
Dennis Norman
UPDATE-June 30th-As the Willie Nelson song goes. “Turn out the lights, the party’s over”….well at least for now…Today, the last day the Senate is in session before the 4th of July break, there was yet another motion for cloture (to end debate) on H.R. 4213 and once again, like the previous 2 or 3 attempts, the motion was rejected….The Senate is now on recess until July 12th so nothing is going to happen at least until then….there is still hope with H.R. 5623 …for updates on that bill click here
UPDATE-June 29th – Today the House passed a new stand-alone bill that would extend the closing date for tax credit deals until September 30th…for complete details and future updates on this bill see post by clicking here.
UPDATE-June 28th- While I’m not aware of anything new happening on this in the Senate, I did a press release a little while ago from the National Association of REALTORS which stated if the closing date deadline for tax credits is not extended then up to 180,000 home buyers will lose their tax credit through no fault of their own….this would include buyers in every single state. NAR is strongly urging the Senate and the House to act quickly to pass the legislation to permit the extension…let’s hope they are listening…
UPDATE-June 24th-10:25 pm- Well, so much for my prediction (guess)….The Senate did not make any real progress today on this….there was a motion to end debate on the bill with the Baucus amendment but it did not pass…so at this point, nothing….
UPDATE – June 24th – yesterday there was a vote in the Senate to table the motion to concur on the Baucus amendment (S.AMDT 4369-This has the closing extension in it) that passed which essentially put it out to pasture at that point…However, Sen Reid introduced for Sen Baucus S.AMDT 4386 which also extends the closing date to on or before September 30th in it… Later in the day there was a motion for cloture on the amendment that passed, therefore ending debate on the motion….It is on the calendar today to be taken up so my guess is (and this is just a guess) is they will pass the bill today with the new Baucus amendment…-end of update.
Yesterday I wrote about the possibility of Congress extending the deadline to close on a purchase of a home for the home-buyer tax credit as a result of a Senate Amendment 4344 proposed by Harry Reid to amend Senate Amendment 4301 which amends H.R. 4213. Wow, did you follow all that? The bottom line is the Senate amendments would add to the House Bill that passed an extension of the deadline for purchasers to close on a home purchase to September 30 to qualify for the home-buyer tax credit. It is IMPORTANT to note that this DOES NOT change the deadline of April 30th to have entered into a contract to purchase a home…so if you haven’t bought yet, it’s still too late to get the credit. However, if you are one of the people that did buy but are struggling to get the purchase closed by June 30th to claim your credit, you may be in luck!
Yesterday in the Senate, the underlying amendment, Senate Amendment 4301 was withdrawn however Senator Reid changed his amendment to amend Senate Amendment 4369 (Sen. Baucus) instead. The good news is Senator Reids amendment 4344 did in fact pass yesterday by a vote of 60 to 37 (60 is the minimum number of votes needed to pass). Note, the underlying amendment, Senate Amendment 4369 by Senator Baucus has not passed yet. It is being discussed today in the Senate and if it ultimately passes, it will still require the House of Representatives to accept the Senates amendments to H.R. 4213 before this would be sent to President Obama to sign into law. Therefore, while this is a positive step toward getting the closing date extended, we are not there yet.
I’ll keep following the issue and update this blog as needed.
Dennis Norman
The deadline to purchase a home to qualify for the extended home-buyer tax credit was April 30th with a deadline of June 30, 2010 to close the sale. Since the deadline to purchase I have heard from many buyers with questions and concerns as they realize that, while they made the April 30th deadline to enter enter a contract to purchase a home, they are concerned that they may not make the June 30th deadline for closing, particularly those buying a new home, and want to know if there were any options available to them to still salvage the credits.
Up until recently, the answer was no. However, now, thanks to an amendment offered to a house bill by Senators Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Harry Reid (D-NV), known as S.Amdt 4301, and amends H.R. 4213, if passed will extend the deadline for closing on the purchase of a home to September 30, 2010. It is important to note that this bill does NOT extend the deadline to buy a home, it will remain at April 30, 2010, it just gives those buyers extra time to close on the purchase.
I’ll be following this closely and will update this post as necessary.
have filed an amendment that may be offered to a major tax and jobs bills. That bill, HR 4213, is a huge piece of legislation that would renew and extend a series of provisions (including the 15-year recovery period for leasehold improvements) through December 31, 2010.
61 Percent of Those Looking for or Considering Buying a Home Had No Plans to Use the Tax Credit
Dennis Norman
According to a survey from Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, the majority of people looking for, or considering buying, a home had no plans to take advantage of the First-Time or Move-Up/Repeat Home Buyer Tax Credits.
The survey, which was conducted online during the last week of February 2010, was designed to identify factors affecting today’s home buying decisions. Respondents were people from across the country who were searching for a new home, saving up to buy a home or who recently purchased a new home.
Of the respondents that said they were looking for or considering buying a home, nearly two-thirds (63 percent) said they believe it is a “buyer’s market,” more than half (54 percent) feel that mortgage rates are affordable, and 70 percent indicate that there are affordable homes on the market. Just about half (49 percent) feel that the economy gives them the ability to negotiate more than usual. However, only 39 percent surveyed said they had planned to take advantage of the tax credit before it expired on April 30, 2010.
“There has been a lot of speculation about the housing market after the tax credit extension expired,” said Sherry Chris, president and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. “The tax credit was truly a great motivating factor, with many home buyers taking advantage. However, we found that the tax credit was only one motivation. People buy homes for lifestyle reasons as well and I suspect that the normal seasonality patterns of home buying will still play out now that the tax credit has expired.”
Dennis Norman
If you are one of the million-plus homebuyers that was fortunate enough to qualify for the Home Buyer tax credit, read on for information on how to claim your credit.
Today the Internal Revenue Service released a new form that eligible homebuyers must need to use to claim the first-time homebuyer credit this tax season, along with instructions and guidelines for other documentation that must accompany your tax return.
The new form and instructions follow major changes in November to the homebuyer credit by the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009. The new law extended the credit to a broader range of home purchasers and added new documentation requirements to deter fraud and ensure taxpayers properly claim the credit.
The IRS expects to start processing 2009 tax returns claiming the homebuyer credit in mid-February after it completes the updating and testing of systems to meet the law’s new requirements. The updates allow the IRS to put in place critical systemic checks to deter fraud related to the homebuyer credit.
Some of these early taxpayers claiming the homebuyer credit may see tax refunds take an additional two to three weeks.
In addition to filling out a Form 5405, all eligible homebuyers must include with their 2009 tax returns one of the following documents in order to receive the credit:
- A copy of the settlement statement showing all parties’ names and signatures, property address, sales price, and date of purchase. Normally, this is the properly executed Form HUD-1, Settlement Statement.
- For mobile home purchasers who are unable to get a settlement statement, a copy of the executed retail sales contract showing all parties’ names and signatures, property address, purchase price and date of purchase.
- For a newly constructed home where a settlement statement is not available, a copy of the certificate of occupancy showing the owner’s name, property address and date of the certificate.
In addition, the new law allows a long-time resident of the same main home to claim the homebuyer credit if they purchase a new principal residence. To qualify, eligible taxpayers must show that they lived in their old homes for a five-consecutive-year period during the eight-year period ending on the purchase date of the new home. The IRS has stepped up compliance checks involving the homebuyer credit, and it encouraged homebuyers claiming this part of the credit to avoid refund delays by attaching documentation covering the five-consecutive-year period:
- Form 1098, Mortgage Interest Statement, or substitute mortgage interest statements,
- Property tax records or
- Homeowner’s insurance records.
The IRS also reminded homebuyers that the new documentation requirements mean that taxpayers claiming the credit cannot file electronically and must file paper returns. Taxpayers can still use IRS Free File to prepare their returns, but the returns must be printed out and sent to the IRS, along with all required documentation.
Normally, it takes about four to eight weeks to get a refund claimed on a complete and accurate paper return where all required documents are attached. For those homebuyers filing early, the IRS expects the first refunds based on the homebuyer credit will be issued toward the end of March.
The IRS encourages taxpayers to use direct deposit to speed their refund. In addition, taxpayers can use Where’s My Refund? on IRS.gov to track the status of their refund.
More details on claiming the credit can be found in the instructions to Form 5405, as well as on the First-Time Homebuyer Credit page on IRS.gov.
Ted Gayer, co-director of Economic Studies, Brookings Institute
According to this article, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) has scored a Senate homebuyer tax credit at $16.7 billion. How does the JCT $16.7 billion cost estimate square with my previous back-of-the-envelope calculation of the cost of the tax credit of $73.9 billion?
If we use the same parameter inputs, but change the credit to $8,000 from $15,000, and assume baseline sales of 2.8 million rather than 5.5 million (based on existing and new homes sales from December 2008 through June 2009), then we get an estimate of 69,000 additional sales at $19.6 billion. The $19.6 billion is higher than JCT’s estimate of $16.7 billion, but I would say within the ballpark. Part of the difference is due to JCT’s estimate that there will be a revenue gain of $1.8 billion from 2012 to 2014, since homebuyers must pay back the credit if they sell their house within three years. Even assuming the $1.8 billion in additional revenues, the point remains the same – an estimated $258,000 per additional house sold (i.e., $17.8 billion divided by 69,000) is a poorly targeted subsidy!
Dennis Norman
I have done several posts on the homebuyer tax credit and received and answered hundreds of questions about the tax credits on the various blogs I write for. There appears to be a lot of demand for the credits by homebuyers but also appears to be many questions. If you have questions about the homebuyer tax credit I would suggest you check out the comments/questions and answers to a post I did at www.RealEstateConsumerNews.com.
In addition, the National Association of Home Builders has just updated their informative video on the newly extended and expanded tax credit progrm. The video is below. Continue reading “Helpful homebuyer tax credit video from NAHB“
First-Time Homebuyer Credit Extended to April 30, 2010; Some Current Homeowners Now Also Qualify
WASHINGTON — A new law that went into effect Nov. 6 extends the first-time homebuyer credit five months and expands the eligibility requirements for purchasers.
The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 extends the deadline for qualifying home purchases from Nov. 30, 2009, to April 30, 2010. Additionally, if a buyer enters into a binding contract by April 30, 2010, the buyer has until June 30, 2010, to settle on the purchase. Continue reading “New updated info from IRS on Homebuyer Tax Credit“
Publishers note: If you have been reading our blog for a while you are probably aware we have been supporters and advocates of the home-buyer tax credit as well as the extension and expansion of the credit, which happened last week. We realize however, there are people that do not support the credits for a variety of reasons. I came across the article below which was written prior to passage of the extension of the credit by Ted Gayer. I think this is a well written piece and does present the “other side of the coin”…Ted agreed to allow us to publish it to show another point of view on the credits.
Ted Gayer, Co-Director of Economic Studies, Brookings Institute
Ted Gayer, Co-Director of Economic Studies, Brookings Institute
Extending and Expanding the Homebuyer Tax Credit Is a Bad Idea
In an earlier piece, I argued that the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit was a poorly targeted subsidy that should be allowed to expire, as planned, at the end of November. Unfortunately, the President and Democratic Congressional leaders are moving toward extending the credit. Senator Dodd has suggested making the credit available to all home buyers (not just first-time buyers), subject to income requirements. Senator Dodd said he is working with Senator Isakson, who previously proposed a $15,000 tax credit to any buyer of a home. Continue reading “And now for the other side of the coin on the home-buyer tax credit“
Dennis Norman
UPDATE 11/06/09 5:14 p.m. – Thanks to Denis T who was commenting on this post, click here to go to the IRS site with information on the new tax credits.
UPDATE 11/06/09 1:00 p.m. – I just heard that a short while ago President Obama signed the bill into law. IT’S OFFICIAL! So if you are in the market for a home .. Go For It!
Dennis Norman
UPDATE 11/05 2:00 pm – The House has passed the bill by a vote of 403 – 12 – It now goes to the President who is expected to sign today or tomorrow.
UPDATE 11/05, 12:35 pm- To read the section of H.R. 3548 that contains the details concerning the first-time home-buyer tax credit click here.
If you care to read the entire bill click here.
UPDATE: At 5:28 p.m. by a vote of 98 to 0 the Senate Passed H.R. 3548 – It now will go to the House where it is expected to pass and then go to the President for him to sign into law.
The Senate voted 97-1 at 12:16 pm today (eastern time) to end debate on H.R. 3548 (The Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009) which includes the amendment extending and expanding the home-buyer tax credit program.
So where does it go from here?
- The Senate will need to vote on passage of the bill with the amendment.
- If the Senate passes the bill, then the House could take up the bill in the next day or so. The thought is they will accept the Seante bill and vote on it. However, if this is not the case and they make changes, then that will slow down the process.
- Assuming the House passes the bill without change then the bill will then go to the President for his signature. The National Association of REALTORS has stated the white house has indicated the President is planning to sign the bill if passed. Continue reading “Home buyer tax credit extension update; Senate Passes Bill“
Dennis Norman
UPDATED: 6:15 pm Central Time-
The Senate voted 85-2 this afternoon to end debate on the amendment..This is clears a procedural hurdle and will allow the bill and amendment to be voted on by the Senate, most likely on Tuesday or Wednesday….If passed by the Senate it would then need to go back to the House for passage and then on to the President.
Here’s the latest info I have on the possible extension of the home-buyer tax credit:
The Dodd-Lieberman-Isakson Amendment I spoke of in last Friday’s update was added to the unemployment bill and has not yet been voted on by the Senate, but is expected to be voted on this week. Assuming the Senate passes the bill, it will then go to the House where, according to the latest information from the National Association of REALTORS(R), it is expected to accept the Senate amendments, vote on the package and send it to the President for his signature. The White House has indicated that President Obama will sign the legislation. Continue reading “Home buyer tax credit update-November 2, 2009“
Dennis Norman
In yesterday’s update I had some rather encouraging news about the possible extension of the first-time home buyer tax credit of $8,000 that has stimulated some home buying but is set to expire on November 30th. The good news was that there is an agreement amongst the powers that be with regard to extending the home buyer tax credit, which in itself is a HUGE step toward getting the credit extended, but as I said yesterday, “the fat lady hasn’t sang yet”.
Based upon the latest news I just received in an email update from the National Association of REALTORS(R) I would say the lady has not quite taken the stage yet. The Dodd-Lieberman-Isakson Amendment (the agreement I was referring to above by the “powers that be”) ended up being added to the Unemployment Insurance bill. As I mentioned yesterday they were deciding whether to add it as an amendment to this bill or make it a stand-alone bill. Obviously they made the decision. Apparently the Senate needs to reach an agreement on procedure in order to schedule a vote on the Unemployment Insurnace extension and they were not able to do that yet. NAR is reporting that the next action is expected to be: Continue reading “Home buyer tax credit update-October 30, 2009“
Dennis Norman
I have been talking a lot lately about the first-time home buyer tax credit of $8,000 that has stimulated some home buying but is set to expire on November 30th. I have also shared the efforts by organizations such as the National Association of REALTORS, The Mortgage Bankers Associaiton, The National Association of Home Builders and Fix Housing First to urge Congress to extend the home buyer tax credit as well as expand it to include more than just first-time home buyers.
Unfortunately there are some inaccurate reports I’m seeing this morning that indicating the Senate has passed a bill to extend the home-buyer taxcredits, which is not true, yet. However, I am happy to report that progress is being made though! According to an email I just released by the National Association of REALTORS: Continue reading “Home buyer tax credit update“
Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
The best available tool for sustaining the still-fragile housing market is the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit, (expires November 30) and it is essential that Congress extend the credit into 2010, the National Association of Realtors® testified at a hearing of the U.S. House Small Business Committee yesterday.
NAR Regional Vice President Joseph L. Canfora said “the credit is working,” pointing out that the 355,000 to 400,000 transactions directly attributable to the credit made a significant dent in the housing inventory and will help to stabilize home prices. Further, the credit has provided a huge indirect benefit to local governments, shoring up property tax bases in particularly hard-hit areas. Continue reading “Homebuyer Tax Credit Best Tool for Sustaining Housing Recovery, Says NAR“
Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
Today, testifying before The US House of Representatives Small Business Committee, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) told the committee that the current credit cycle and recession began in the U.S. housing market, and recovery will not be complete until the current oversupply of house on the market has dramatically decreased.
The MBA then cited the recent report by the IRS that over 1.4 million taxpayers have benefited from the tax credit. “Although (the) MBA is seeing some improvement in the housing market, it is essential that the favorable impact of the first-time homebuyer credit be allowed to continue beyond the upcoming expiration date of November30, 2009.” Continue reading “MBA urges US House Small Business Committee to Extend and Expand Homebuyer Tax Credit“
Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
Results have just been released of a study conducted by Rosen Consulting Group as to the effectiveness of the 2009 first-time-homebuyer tax credit and the potential need for an extension of the credits.
The Rosen Consulting Group was retained by Fix Housing First, a coalition that was originally working to convince Congress for a housing stimulus package
that they feel would have a more significant then what was ultimately passed, and since has been working to get the tax credit extended beyond its current expiration date of November 30, 2009.
The study noted that “facing the most significant economic crisis since World War II, Congress and the White House passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 in an effort to provide support to the contracting economy and beleaguered housing market.” Continue reading “Homebuyer tax credit has been primary cause of recent return of buyers to market according to study“
