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$7,500 Tax Credit For New Home Buyers

Posted Thursday, January 29, 2009

Part of new president Obamas 819 billion dollar stimulus package includes new tax credits for first time home buyers. The 7,500 tax credit applies to any person purchasing a new home for primary residence only, and who has not owned a home in the last three years.

This all may see familiar as there is already a tax credit for first time home buyers in place that was created as part of the Housing Recovery Act passed in the summer of 2007. The stimulus plan simply changes the requirements of the tax credit. Now the home owner does not have to pay any of the tax credit back, as before they had to pay it back over 15 years.

So the question is, will this tax credit bring home buyers into the market and start to decrease the inventory? My simple answer is it will help, but it is not the shining bullet that will end all the doom and gloom of the real estate market. My main concern is that it is only eligible for people who have not owned a home for the last three years. This will almost undoubtedly target young home buyers who can afford only the lower houses priced in the bottom of the market.

The other main concern is that people still have an over all concern with real estate values going down in the near future. Smart people are not going to buy a house when the real estate market is going down in the near future, if they do not have to buy. It is different if they are starting a family, have a steady job, and feel comfortable with their local real estate market coming back in the next couple of years.

So, as housing prices continue to slide across the nation and the number of homes for sale increase, lets take our hats off to our new president proposing a plan to help the real estate market. I hope that it does not stop here but at least we have someone who understands our national and global economic situation and is willing to risk his reputation to help average every day people.

As always, if you need to sell your house fast because of foreclosure, loss of your job, being transfered, divorce or any other reason, the fastest way to sell your house is to contact a local home buyer in your area. They can give you a free offer for your house with no obligation that you have to accept. They are still buying houses because they are able to hold on to properties for long term investments.