Texas Property Insider- Austin Real Estate and Texas Coastal Real Estate Blog

Welcome to Texas Property Insider. The purpose of this blog is to provide accurate and helpful information about market trends and issues important to property owners in Central Texas and on the Texas Coast. You hear a lot of talk out there. You see the statistics, read the stories in the newspaper and you see practitioners regurgitate those same stories and statistics. There is more information available then ever before. But why is it, even after all of the stories and pundits have had their say, you still feel you can’t grasp what’s really happening in the real estate market?


There is a lot more to it than simple statistics and market info. These numbers are helpful and vitally important, but if taken at face value they can be misleading, even deceiving. As Mark Twain once said, “There are lies, damned lies and then there are statistics.” I created this blog to pull back the curtain on Texas real estate, interpret the market information and present it to you in a format that is both pithy and easy to digest.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Congress sends Positive reinforcement With Extension and Expansion of Homebuyer Tax credits

On November 6, the first-time homebuyer tax

credit was extended. In addition, the tax credit was

expanded to include current homeowners. This is

good news for the REALTOR® community, as well as

potential homebuyers. Below you will find the basic

facts you need to know about the newest version of

the tax credit:


• Up to an $8,000 tax credit is available for first-

time homebuyers—these individuals cannot have

owned a residence in the past three years;


• Up to a $6,500 tax credit is available for indi-

viduals who have lived in their home for five con-

secutive years out of the last eight;


• Income limit for single buyers is $125,000;


• Income limit for married buyers who file jointly is

$225,000;


• Buyers must live in the home purchased for a

minimum of three years in order to avoid having

to pay back the tax credit;


• The deadline has been extended to April 30,

2010—a written, binding contract must be in

place by April 30 to qualify, and buyers must

close on the home they are purchasing on or

before June 30, 2010.


No comments:

Post a Comment