First Time Homebuyer - St Louis Real Estate News

Homebuyer Tax Credit Best Tool for Sustaining Housing Recovery, Says NAR

By Dennis Norman, on October 8th, 2009

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 Continue Reading →

MBA urges US House Small Business Committee to Extend and Expand Homebuyer Tax Credit

By Dennis Norman, on October 7th, 2009

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 Continue Reading →

Homebuyer tax credit has been primary cause of recent return of buyers to market according to study

By Dennis Norman, on October 5th, 2009

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 Continue Reading →

Almost 1 in 5 prospective homebuyers say extending $8,000 tax credit to 2010 would be primary influence on their decision to buy

By Dennis Norman, on September 25th, 2009

By: Dennis Norman

Nearly one in five (18 percent) prospective first-time homebuyers said extending the $8,000 tax credit would be the primary influence on their decision to buy a home before the end of 2010, according to a Zillow survey. That would equate to 334,000 buyers from Dec. 1, 2009 to Nov. 30, 2010 – a likely time period for an extension, according to additional analysis.

Zillow queried adults who qualify as a first-time homebuyer, asking them if an extension of the tax credit would influence their plans to buy a home before the end of 2010. If the Continue Reading →

First-time homebuyer credit provides tax benefits to 1.4 million familes to date according to the IRS

By Dennis Norman, on September 19th, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

“I’m from the IRS and I’m here to help you.”

Yeah, sure. :)

Actually, in this case the IRS is trying to help. The IRS has a website and has even published a video on YouTube to help first-time buyers and potential buyers understand the first-time home buyer tax credit as well as how to claim the credit.

The IRS issued a notice yesterday reminding potential home buyers they must complete their first-time home purchases before Dec. 1 to qualify for the special first-time home buyer credit. The credit of up to $8,000 Continue Reading →

REALTORS Urge Congress to Extend Homebuyer Tax Credits

By Dennis Norman, on September 16th, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS®is calling upon its 1.2 million members to urge Congress to extend the home-buyer tax credit into next year.

According to NAR the $8,000 first-time home-buyer tax credit has brought 1.2 million new buyers into the market – 350,000 of whom would not have purchased a home without the credit.

Continue Reading →

IRS Warns Taxpayers to Beware of First-Time Homebuyer Credit Fraud

By Dennis Norman, on August 2nd, 2009

The Internal Revenue Service this week announced its first successful prosecution related to fraud involving the first-time homebuyer credit and warned taxpayers to beware of this type of scheme.

On Thursday July 23, 2009, a Jacksonville, Fla.-tax preparer, James Otto Price III, pled guilty to falsely claiming the first-time homebuyer credit on a client’s federal tax return. Price faces the possibility of up to three years in jail, a fine of as much as $250,000, or both. To date, the IRS has executed seven search warrants and currently has 24 open criminal investigations in pursuit of potential instances of fraud Continue Reading →