Senate Approves Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension
Posted by Mike Ciucci on
The Senate today voted unanimously Wednesday night to extend the $8,000 tax credit for home buyers beyond its scheduled November 30, 2009 expiration date. The credit would be available for contracts signed by April 30, 2010 and must close by June 30, 2010. Under the new legislation the credit will also now apply to home buyers who are buying their second or subsequent home. The credit currently applies only to first time home buyer.
The Senate vote was 98 to 0.
Under a compromise reached late last week, the tax credit for veteran homeowners will apply only to those who have lived in their current residence for at least five years. The credit for these buyers will be capped at $6,500 while first time buyers will continue to receive $8,000.
Income levels…
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Boeing announced that Charleston will be the final location for the 787 aircraft assembly plant, more specifically, North Charleston. This is great news for our local economy here in Charleston, as 3800 jobs are expected to be filled over the next seven years, and Boeing is to invest more than $750 million. This will also spur growth in real estate for the area, as many employees and future employees will be relocating here.
Yes, good news amid a slurry of seemingly bad news over the last year. It seems that banks were tightening more and more as the year went on, but now we have a some great news.
Good news in a sluggish economy- Pending homes sales increase. A NAR (National Association of Realtors) Pending Home Sales index reported more pending homes sales in July than in June. The NAR index, making its sixth straight increase, showed an increase of 3.2% in July, the quickest climb since the group starting tracking the market 10 years ago. This was up 12% from July's '08 level. This reading has far exceeded forecasts of economists that were surveyed. The first-time homebuyers tax credit is cited as the major reason for this trend. The NAR index also shows that the West out-performed the Northeast and Midwest, jumping over 12% in July, and that the South also did well.
I haven't written about any of the neighborhoods in the Charleston, SC area so far on this blog, so I thought I'd tell you a little bit about Bayview Farms located on James Island. This is one of the top neighborhoods in all of James Island, and for a number of good reasons. First of all, the homes are of newer construction. Having newer materials and great floor plans makes it a little more modern for the average buyer looking at something other than the typical 60's style brick ranch found on James Island. They have open floor plans, high ceilings, more closet space, larger master bedrooms, and just seem to be more bright with many windows.
Don't forget that the $8,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit expires on December 1st, 2009! This means that you will have to have closed on your property by that November 30th, NO EXCEPTIONS. I would not wait until the last minute. Closings are often delayed, and especially short sales (which I am hesitant to even recommend at this point- you may not have enough time) will be delayed.
I was at our weekly office meeting with Carolina One Real Estate, where we talk about current events and trends in real estate, the latest mortgage and financing issues, and a lot of the pitfalls that some buyers and sellers are experiencing in this difficult market. I have to say, a lot of agents or people in general can complain about mandatory meetings, but I tend to get a whole lot out of the discussions we have. If you have about 120 agents (in our office alone) talking about what’s happening in the real estate market- it’s a great way to bounce ideas off one another for our buyers, sellers, or to take advantage of a great listing that one agent has, that we can show one of our buyers before it hits the market.
Stunning executive home on the golf course in Coosaw Creek Country Club. This wonderful 5 bedroom, 4.5 bath home has an impressive foyer with 20’ ceilings, a dramatic curved iron stairway, and pristine hardwood floors throughout the downstairs. Kitchen has all the upgrades with stainless appliances, granite countertops, custom Fains cabinets, gas cook top, adjoining butler’s pantry, and an breakfast area. Back porch area has wood floors, stainless grill hooked up to gas with cooking area having granite and small fridge, and a swimming pool and deck- all overlooking the golf course.