Register Real Estate Advisors

For Active Duty Military personnel living overseas during any part of the $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit or the $6,500 Move Up Tax Credit – you are still eligible to take advantage of the tax credits until April 30, 2011.
The $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit will be ending soon. You must be under contract by the end of April to qualify for the tax credit and must close on your home by the end of June. To qualify, the purchaser(s) may not have owned a primary residence in the last three years. It does not have to be a resale home, you may purchase from a builder. You should use a Realtor even when you purchase from a builder. It’s free for buyer’s to use Realtors and your Realtor will be representing you and looking out for your best interest. You can receive the maximum $8,000 tax credit if you are single with an income up to $125,000 or married with an income up to $225,000. The amount of the tax credit decreases as home buyers income approaches the maximum limit. Homebuyers earning more than the maximum qualifying income are not eligible for the credit.

There is an existing home buyer tax credit currently in place for $6,500. To use this tax credit you must sell your current primary residence that you have lived in for atleast five consecutive years and purchase another primary residence. If you don’t want to sell your current home, but have lived there for five years and now want to move to a new primary residence, you can still qualify for the tax credit. There are some income requirements, so check with your accountant to be sure you qualify.

Neither of these credits have to be repaid as long as you live in the new primary residence for at least three years.

HOUSTON (Houston Chronicle) – Housing starts increased 6 percent between fourth quarter 2008 and the same in 2009, according to a Metrostudy report released Wednesday.

 Builders started 4,576 homes last quarter and closed on 6,323. There were 12,164 inventory homes either finished or under construction in the Houston area in December.

 However, there were still 65,925 vacant lots ready for development at the end of 2009. That translates to a 42.3-month supply, well above Metrostudy’s idea of a healthy market equilibrium range of 20 to 24 months.

 Builders are expected to develop and sell between 18,000 and 20,000 homes in 2010. Starts and closings in 2009 totaled 18,687 and 22,902, respectively.

You know I like to do Open Houses , but due to House Bill 413 I can no longer post my Open House signs along the roadway to direct you in.  So please print directions if your car or mobile phone does not have a GPS service or call me and I can give you directions to my Open Houses.

Many of you have visited me at my Twilight Open Houses during the week on your way home from work and I hope you will continue to do so.  I will continue to post my Open Houses online at Har.com, Realtor.com, on my Facebook page and the Coldwell Banker Open House Facebook Page, Coldwell Banker United, and on my blog.  When your neighbors do not mind, I can put signs in their yards, too.  I just cannot put them on the main roads and medians.

I appreciate your understanding and am happy to help you with directions to any of my listings or Open Houses.  As always, if you cannot make it to my Open House and would like to arrange a private showing I am happy to arrange that for you.