Harleysville-Lansdale Real Estate and More: November 2009

Well, by now most AR members know that an extension and expansion of the first-time buyer tax credit is imminent.  This news is creating a lot of buzz which hopefully will translate into some home sales (we’ll see).  As this is breaking news, however, it’s also generating a lot of questions.  A couple of good ones that I have been asked (and don’t yet know the answers to) are:

Is the any retroactive feature in the new version of the tax credit for current homeowners.  For example, if a couple sold a home and bought a home earlier in 2009 (assuming all other criteria are met), would they be eligible for the $6,500 credit?

If a current home owner buys a new home and makes it his/her principal residence (again assuming all other criteria are met), does that homeowner need to sell the prior principal residence or can it be kept as an investment property?

If anyone know the answers to these questions or has some other good questions of their own, please post your responses.

Copyright © 2009, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved. Update on The First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit - Not So Fast, Sparky.

This is an Update on the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit specifically addressing some recent reports that the tax credit has been extended.   While some significant steps have been made towards extending the tax credit and even expanding it beyond first-time home buyers, it seems that these reports are a bit premature in claiming this as a done deal.  Here’s what I found out on the subject.

A bill was originated in the U.S. House of Representatives on September 10, 2009 to extend the availability of certain unemployment compensation benefits (totally unrelated to the tax credit or housing in general).  That bill was passed by the House and made its way to the Senate where numerous amendments were made including those related to the first-time home buyer tax credit.  The Senate unanimously passed their version of this bill yesterday, November 4, 2009.  However, there are still significant hurdles that the legislation must clear before becoming law.  Namely, the bill now moves back to the House and the differences must be resolved.  The bill would then move on to the President for signature into law.

So again, it’s a bit premature to count on any tax credit beyond the current expiration date of December 1, 2009.  It is very encouraging, however, that the amended bill passed through the Senate with a unanimous vote showing strong bipartisan support.

Here are a few provisions (as I understand them) of the bill as amended by the Senate:

Time Extensions
The $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers would be extended until May 1, 2010, except that buyers who are under a written contract by May 1, 2010 can even take advantage of the tax credit until July 1, 2010.

Expansion Beyond First-Time Home Buyers
A tax credit of up to $6,500 would be available to “Long-Time Residents” who have owned a home and purchase a new one.   A Long-Time Resident is currently defined as one that has owned a home as their principal residence for any 5-year consecutive period during the 8-year period ending on the date of the purchase of the subsequent principal residence.

Increased Income Limits
The income limits for eligibility of the tax credits would be increased from $150,000 to $225,000 for married persons filing jointly and from $75,000 to $125,000 for other taxpayers.

Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 for help buying or selling a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.

Copyright © 2009, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved. Update on The First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit - Not So Fast, Sparky.

Copyright © 2009, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved. Wordless Wednesday: Big Fish, Little Fish.

I happily had showing appointments lined up for this past Sunday.  But, when another client asked to see a home on Saturday, Lisa took the appointment to give me a little bit of a break.  I’m going to be paying for that thoughtful gesture for quite a while as, in her words, this turned out to be “the worst showing of her life”.

The “worst showing of her life” had nothing to do with our clients (they’re terrific people) or with the property, but rather with the tenant’s easily excited dog.  Lisa had instructions that there would be a small friendly dog in the home and to not let him out.  Just after entering the home, the pooch appeared sprang up and sprinkled a bit on Lisa and on the floor.  With each effort to calm down the canine, he released again and again.  Lisa quickly ceased all contact with the dog and began to case the house for paper towels and cleaning supplies.

With the mess cleaned up, my dear wife regained her composure to resume the showing.  That is until the dog became excited again and started to jump up.  Lisa yelled “no”.  The dog stopped, gave her the puppy eyes, and rolled over on his back.    Despite the recent events that would suggest against her next action, Lisa praised the dog with “good boy” and gave him a scratch on the tummy.  Apparently this was just too much for the dog to handle because he unloaded like a baby getting a premature diaper change, soaking Lisa in dog pee.  Her blouse, skirt, shoes and jacket all took direct hits.

Now before you think that this is the end of the showing from hell, think again.  The client (husband) inadvertently let the dog out of the house.  For the dog, this was great fun and he began a game of “catch me if you can”.  Our clients along with poor pee soaked Lisa spent the next 20 minutes in the rain and mud before finally getting the dog back in the house.

As I said, I’ll to be paying for this showing for some time to come.  If I had been on the showing, there might be one less dog in the world right now.

What’s your worst showing story?  Please share.

Copyright © 2009, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved. The Worst Showing of Her Life.

The Montgomery County, PA Market Report for October 2009 shows a continuation of recent patterns; home prices again declined from the previous year’s level while the number of home sales rose.  

The average price of a home in Montgomery County dropped to $285,817 compared to $304,327 for October, 2008; an 8.2% decrease.  This marks the 23rd consecutive month in which home prices have fallen from the prior year level.

The number of homes sold this past October increased to 731 units versus 604 homes sold in October of the prior year; a 21% increase.  This marks the 4th consecutive month that the number of homes sold has increased from its prior year level.

How is it possible that home sales are increasing, but home prices continue to fall?  In a very general sense, the overall decrease in housing prices has caused some buyers to step into the market and snap up good deals.  Specifically and probably to a larger extent, the first-time buyer tax credit has resulted in an abnormally high number of sales at the lower price ranges of the market.  Also, housing inventory remains relatively high at approximately 8.5 months (even with October’s impressive sales rate).  Housing Inventory is the number of months it would take to sell all of the currently listed homes at the current seasonally adjusted monthly sales rate.  Until we start to consistently see housing inventory down near 6 months of supply, look for continued (but hopefully moderate) pressure on home prices.

To get a sense of the broader national housing market (which will certainly have some effect on our local housing market), check out my blog from this past weekend:  Market Outlook: The Calm Before the Storm.

Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 for help buying or selling a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.

Copyright © 2009, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved. Montgomery County, PA Market Report for October 2009.