$15,000 Tax Credit to Buyers?

Senator Johnny Isakson, who was a real estate broker in Georgia before he left for government, added a $15,000 tax credit amendment to the 800–900 billion dollar stimulus plan. The goal is to stimulate the housing market.

Here's how it would work, according to a press release from the Senator:

Specifically, Isakson’s amendment to the pending economic stimulus bill would provide a direct tax credit to any homebuyer who purchases any home. The amount of the tax credit would be $15,000 or 10 percent of the purchase price, whichever is less. Purchases must be made within one year of the legislation’s enactment, and the tax credit would not have to be repaid.
The amendment would allow taxpayers to claim the credit on their 2008 income tax return. It also seeks to prevent misuse by only allowing purchases of a principal residence and by recapturing the credit if the home is sold within two years of purchase. The amendment would sunset the current $7,500 housing tax credit on the date of enactment.

**Remember that the bill has not passed so that all the parts of this tax credit are subject to change until the bill is signed into law.**

Click here for a link to the full story.

San Diego Home Prices only Down 1.6% last month

Yes, this is good news! Last month's drop in median San Diego home prices--1.6%--is pretty mild compared with the overall decline.

Source: TheVoiceofSanDiego.org

Hmmm...sound familiar?

Here is a snippet from an article in the Real Estate Examiner in 1999.

"In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.
The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets — including the New York metropolitan region — will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.
Fannie Mae, the nation’s biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.
In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates — anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans."

End of snippet. Now here is another one that ran TODAY in the Union-Trib.

"As many as 300 low-and middle-income households in San Diego County will be the beneficiaries of more than $17 million in federal aid designed to clean up neighborhoods hard hit by foreclosures and to provide affordable housing opportunities.
While hardly a cure-all given the magnitude of the region's foreclosure problem, the money is expected to turn hundreds of renters into home owners as well as deeply subsidize the rents of some of the county's lowest-income households.
The funds coming to the county were allocated by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development from a nearly $4 billion pot set aside for “neighborhood stabilization,” which was contained within the Housing and Economic Recovery Act signed into law last summer.
In San Diego County, the largest share of the money – $9.4 million – went to the city of San Diego, followed by the county of San Diego, which received $5.1 million. Also a recipient was the city of Chula Vista, which was awarded $2.8 million.
While each of the jurisdictions has a slightly different program, the idea behind each is to provide qualified buyers with zero-interest deferred loans that would cover up to roughly 25 percent of the cost of a home.

Does this sound familiar? Are we really going to repeat all of this? Comments? Anyone? Bueller?

SOURCE: TheRealEstatebloggers.com and San Diego-Union Tribune.

Sales slower in high-end homes...but hold their value (for the most part)

Research firm MDA DataQuick reported that sales of homes for $1 million or more were down 42.5 percent, hitting the weakest sales pace since 2003. Analysts attributed the decline to tougher loan standards and seller resistance to low-ball offers.

Although sales have slowed, experts guess that most high-end homes have only dropped in price by 10-15%. Not too shabby for a county where some homes have dropped in value 45%.

Some interesting tidbits:

• Of all homes sold in California last year, at least 2,052 that previously sold for more than $1 million were resold for less than $1 million.
• High-end homes weren't immune to the foreclosure trend. There were 1,612 foreclosures and 5,243 notices of default on California homes that previously sold for more than $1 million.
• For those buyers who bought homes costing more than $5 million, more than half were all-cash deals.
  

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

15 No-Brainer Ways to Save Money Around the House

Our latest article, "15 No-Brainer Ways to Save Money Around the House" was just published by the San Diego Union-Tribune yesterday in the real estate section. We just wanted to share in case you missed it!

You may have heard a few of these ideas before, but are you actually implementing them? Doing so can save you thousands of dollars a year—with minimal effort!

· Turn off your heater or air conditioner when you leave the house. It’s San Diego folks, nothing will freeze over.
· Use compact fluorescent bulbs. Experts say they last ten times longer than regular lights! · When washing clothes, use the cold-water wash cycle, and the coolest dryer setting you can. Only run the washing machine—and the dishwasher—when they are FULL.
· If you have a fireplace, make sure you’re keeping the damper closed when you’re not using it.
· No more expensive bottled water! Invest in a handy water purifier instead, such as the Brita water purifier pitcher. Buy a stainless steel water bottle and refill it throughout the day.
· Become an expert at in-home entertaining. Studies have shown that people spend more than $2000 a year on entertainment spending. Instead of going out to eat, invite friends over for dinner. Or better yet, host a potluck!
· Go veggie. If you can do three meatless days a week, you could save $25 a week, which equals $100 a month. That’s $1,200 a year, folks. Hooray for beans!
· Brown-bag lunches…well, at least a few times a week. Not only will you save money, but you’ll probably eat healthier and lose weight.
· If you must go out, make it lunch instead of dinner. The lunch portions aren’t usually much smaller, but they’re a heck of a lot cheaper!
· …And always use dining coupons! Save coupons from the paper each week—or take advantage of those priceless coupon books mailed to your house like the Downtown Coupon book. Or check out www.sdreader.com and click on “coupons” for bargains galore!

-Save those grocery store coupons from the mail. You know the “junk mail” you throw away every day? Well, it’s actually teeming with bargains! Check out the sales at Albertsons and Vons—and bulk up on items when they are on sale.
· Haggle. You’d be amazed at who will drop their prices, fees and interest rates: airlines, hotels, credit card companies, computer/appliance/rug salespeople.
Never pay full price. If you must shop, discover the online world of discount websites. Our favorites include Ebay and Overstock.com. Craigslist and Half.com are also great sources for lightly used goods—and new items too!

-Keep minimum funds in your checking account. Keep the bulk of your funds in your savings account where it will earn more interest. Call your bank and shop for the best rates.
Use rewards credit cards. If you’re going to charge it…might as well get something back, right? If you can discipline yourself to pay off your card each month, thereby avoiding any interest payments, you can score airline miles and other great perks!

We hope you’ve found these ideas helpful. Happy saving!

San Diego Ranked America's Second Most-Desirable City

Well, it's not hard to see why San Diego was ranked high in the Pew Research Center's list of "America's Most Desirable Cities." With our awesome climate, amazing beaches and exciting entertainment scene...what's not to love?

In a national survey released today which asked people where they would like to live, San Diego ranked second among 30 major metropolitan areas. Denver ranked first. Hmm. Denver sounds nice and all, but I just don't think it compares to America's Finest.

Click here for more on this story from the San Diego Union-Trib.

Deals Galore for Buyers in San Diego...prices down 46.7% from peak in some areas

For the buyers out there, it just keeps getting better and better. A study from Standard & Poor's Home Price Index ranked San Diego the sixth weakest housing market nationally, with prices overall down 25.8 percent in November from year-earlier levels.

The low-end of the market--properties priced below $306,500, saw the biggest year-over-year drop of 30.5 percent in November. (From the market high of 2006, this represents a whopping drop of 46.7%.)

Meanwhile, so-called "high end" homes more than $435,097, are experiencing deep price declines as well, with average sales price down 28.6% from June 2006.

A snipped from the article:
San Diego real estate agent Scott Voak says that high-end price drops are probably accelerating because credit-worthy owners who took out so-called Alt-A loans – those with negative amortization features, zero interest or zero down payments – are unable to cope with resetting monthly payments and having to sell at a loss.

“A lot of people in neighborhoods like 4S Ranch (west of Rancho Bernardo) and San Elijo Hills (in San Marcos) have those loans,” Voak said. “We saw a home sold for over $1 million about 2½ years ago, and the bank put it on the market for $729,000.”

Click here for the whole story from the San Diego Union-Tribune.