Home Buyer Tax Credit to be Extended and Eligibility Expanded

UPDATE: I was told this is a done deal, but I haven't seen an announcement yet - so it might still change. The tax credit was expanded to move-up and higher income buyers. The amount of the credit was reduced to a maximum of $7,290.

From Bloomberg: Senate Close to Deal Replacing Homebuyer Tax Credit

The details:

# Income eligibility for first-time home buyers stays at $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples.
# For move-up buyers, income eligibility is $125,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples.
# There is a minimum 5 year residency requirement in their current home for move-up home buyers.
# The tax credit is the lesser of $7,290 or 10% of the purchase price.
# The credit runs from Dec. 1, 2009 to April 30, 2010, with an additional 60 day period to close escrow. (So end of April to sign contract, end of June to close escrow)
# Expect bill to be signed by Friday.

Source: http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/10/home-buyer-tax-credit-to-be-extended.html

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Sep 2009 California Median Home Prices

C.A.R. reports September home sales increased 2.1 percent; median home price declined 7.3 percent.

The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California during September 2009 was $296,090, a 7.3 percent decrease from the revised $319,310 median for September 2008, C.A.R. reported. The September 2009 median price rose 1.1 percent compared with August’s $292,960 median price.

For the overall San Francisco Bay Area, the median price was $536080, which is a .8% increase from prior month, and 3.4% lower than the same period last year.

Quick Facts:

- Existing, single-family home sales increased 2.1 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted rate of 530,520 units on an annualized basis.

- The statewide median price of an existing single-family home increased 1.1 percent in September to $296,090, compared with August 2009.

- C.A.R.’s Unsold Inventory Index fell to 4.2 months in September, compared with 6.5 months in
September 2008.

- Thirty-year fixed-mortgage interest rates averaged 5.06 percent during September 2009, compared with 6.04 percent in September 2008, according to Freddie Mac. Adjustable-mortgage interest rates averaged 4.59 percent in September 2009, compared with 5.14 percent in September 2008.

- The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home was 33.6 days in September 2009, compared with 46.2 days (revised) for the same period a year ago.

Clicks here for more analysis and summary of regional sales and price activity, as well as median price in each county and city.

If you are interested in finding out the median price and sales data for a particular neighborhood or city, please send me an email to meimei@calMBArealty.com to let me know.

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