On November 6, President Obama signed legislation that extends and expands the U.S. tax credit for home buyers.  Not all the details have been disclosed but attached below are the basics of the program.

In addition to the tax credit, interest rates remain historically low and there’s plenty of homes to choose from.  Don’t miss out on this limited opportunity.  Call me today at 717-623-8508 to get started!

For more information regarding the home buyer’s tax credit, click on the link below.

Home Buyer’s Tax Credit

Congress approved the extension of the first time buyer’s tax credit until April 2010.  Consumers buying a home for the first time in three years are eligible to receive up to $8,000 if they are under contract by April 30, 2010 and close on or before June 30. 

The most significant change is that a “repeat buyers” who are buying a new primary residence are eligible to receive a tax credit up to $6,500 beginning December 1 if they owned their home for five consecutive years in the previous eight. 

If you are considering making a real estate change, please contact me at Michelle@HarrisburgHouses.net or 717-623-8508. 

I’ll be posting my listings and other pertinent real estate information on my Facebook fan page.  Feel free to dialogue with me about what you heard on the evening news to see if it applies to our local market.  Real estate is local and just because home values in Las Vegas are down 50% doesn’t mean that the same is true for the Harrisburg area.   

If you want to be “in the know”, become a fan of “Michelle Leo Realtor”.  See you on Facebook!

It’s not final yet but we are definately one major step closer to officially extending the first time buyer tax credit.  The most significant change is that more buyers will be able to qualify for a tax credit due to the “repeat buyers” addition.  If passed, it will allow for current homeowners to claim up to $6,500 if the home they are vacating has been their primary residence for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years. 

For more details, read the full article:  http://www.usnews.com/money/blogs/the-home-front/2009/10/29/first-time-home-buyer-tax-credit-gets-obama-nod.html 

According to Fulton Research Inc. and reported by The Central Penn Business Journal, median sale prices of properties decreased in September compared to one year ago in Dauphin, Lancaster and York Counties.  However, the median sales price increased in Lebanon County.

Data was not available for Cumberland County.

For the complete article, please visit http://www.centralpennbusiness.com/daily.asp?eDate=10/23/2009&utm_source=Listrak&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=%2fdaily.asp%3feDate%3d10%2f23%2f2009%2373251&utm_content=mleo%40capitalareahomes.com&utm_campaign=Business+Journal+Daily#73251 

According to the National Association of Realtors, 45% of home sales from January to July 2009 were first time buyers between the ages of 25 – 45.  These first time buyers took advantage of the tax credit (up to $8000), low interest rates, and high inventory levels. 

If you’re credit is 620 or higher, it’s time to get into the real estate game – especially if you’re a first time buyer!  Why pay off somebody else’s mortgage when you can build up your OWN self worth?  For more information, please contact me at Michelle@HarrisburgHouses.net or 717-623-8508.

Prospective buyers are asking the million dollar question…will there be a home buyer tax credit in 2010?  At this point, nobody knows and we most likely won’t know anything more until January 2010.  My advice is that if your pre-approved and the timing is right (need to settle on your new home on or by 12/1/09), go for it this year!

What we do know is that interest rates are still low, there’s plenty of inventory out there AND we still have the first time buyer tax credit until 12/1/09.  Take advantage of this wonderful opportunity while it’s still available.  Don’t proscrastinate…you might end up losing some “free money” if you do!

Years ago (i.e. pre-Internet) Realtors advertised all their listings in the newspaper.  Back then, it made perfect sense to do so because that was the one place a prospective Buyer could go to gather information on available homes.  Today, 87% of Buyers go to the Internet to do their due diligence.  It’s common for Buyers to start their research before they even select a Realtor.  

If you are considering selling your home, ask the prospective listing agent to give you a breakdown on how they spend their marketing/advertising dollars.  Will you be able to find your home on the Internet?  If so, what websites?  The most popular real estate website is www.realtor.com.  Will your home be included on Realtor.com? 

As a Seller, you want to make it easy for prospective Buyers to find your home.  Talk to your Realtor about how they can give your home the maximum exposure on the Internet.  For more information, feel free to send me an email at Michelle@HarrisburgHouses.net.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), existing home sales increased for the third consecutive month in all major regions of the country.  Why?  It’s a combination of the following…historically low interest rates, first time buyer tax credit, high levels of inventory and motivated sellers!  Let’s keep the momentum rolling!

I had the opportunity to list a property that was previously listed by two other Realtors for eight months.  As you can imagine, by the time the seller contracted with me they were frustrated and lost hope that their home was going to sell “in this market”.  I am happy to report that we received a full price offer within 16 days of listing their home.

How did we do it?  Most importantly, we priced the home to sell.  Based on the current inventory available of similar homes and recent sales (within the last 6 months), we found the “sweet spot”.  Determining the list price of your home is the most crucial decision that you’re going to make.  We had more showings in the 16 days it was listed with me than they did during the entire 8 months it was listed previously. 

If you are considering selling your home, please contact me for a market analysis so we can determine together the “sweet spot” for your home.  My contact number is 717-623-8508.