Northern VA and Washington, DC, Market Update – October 2009
October 30, 2009 by Katie Wethman · 5 Comments
In a major addition, the bill is expected to provide a $6500 credit to “move up buyers,” that is, people who currently own a home but purchase a new one by April IF they have owned their current home for at least five continuous years. This is great news, especially for our area where the inventory has continued to fall, leaving many first time buyers frustrated with the options available to them (as seen in this parody video about buying a bank owned home.) This type of credit might encourage sellers to get their homes on the market so they can take advantage of their own credit! Given that the credit expires relatively early in the spring market, we may be in for a very active winter.
House leaders have not yet endorsed any particular plan, so it’s important to note that details of this agreement may not make it in to a final law. Stay tuned. READ THE COMMENTS BELOW FOR UPDATES.
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Update 11/4: The Senate “consensus” has officially passed the Senate as of today. The version that passed is as described above, and also increased income limits for those eligible–raising the limit for single filers from $75k to $125, and raising the joint limit on AGI from $150 to $225. Now on to the House!
Update 11/5: The bill appears to have passed the House – see a great summary post here:
http://www.phoenixrealestateguy.com/home-buyer-tax-credit-passes-both-house-and-senate/
Key changes from the prior credit:
- As expected, a “move up credit” of $6500 has been approved.
- Any residence above $800k does not qualify for either credit.
- Income limits were raised from $75/$150 (single/joint) to $125/$225.