Don’t Believe the Nashville Real Estate Hype…Yet

March 9, 2010 by admin · 12 Comments 

I have read either this exact sentence or a very close derivation of it about a dozen times since the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors (GNAR) published the February 2010 home sales results: “Home sales are already at a frenzied level in the first month of the year so you better hurry! Inventories are at [...]

Warren Buffett Predicts End of Housing Crisis

March 1, 2010 by admin · 3 Comments 

According to Bloomberg News, Billionaire Warren Buffett said the U.S. residential real estate slump will end by about 2011, predicting that’s how long it will take demand for homes to catch up with the supply. “Within a year or so, residential housing problems should largely be behind us,” Buffett wrote on February 27 in his [...]

First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended & Expanded

November 9, 2009 by admin · 4 Comments 

If you feel like the first time homebuyer tax credit was a sweet deal that you missed out on, you’ll now have another shot, the program has now been extended through April 30, 2010. The Tax Credit was also amended to include move-up buyers who’ve been in their current home 5 consecutive years over the [...]

Senate Debates Extending First Time Buyer Credit

October 29, 2009 by admin · 3 Comments 

Bloomberg.com reports that the Obama administration endorsed plans to extend an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, saying it is helping stabilize the nation’s housing market. Senate Democrats have announced plans to extend the credit until April 30, 2010, while expanding it to include higher-income Americans and some who already own homes. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max [...]

Mortgage Applications Down as Rates Rise

October 27, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment 

Mortgage applications declined for the second consecutive week and to their lowest level in over a month, as interest on 30-year fixed loans rose to 5.07 percent. The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that its index of loan applications fell 13.7 percent last week, as requests to refinance mortgages sank 16.8 percent and demand for purchase [...]

$8,000 First-Time Home Buyer Credit Expires Soon

October 6, 2009 by admin · 4 Comments 

The Tennessee Association of Realtors made a pretty cheesy, yet surprisingly informative animated video to help us understand the $8,000 first-time home buyer credit. This video touches on how to qualify for the tax credit, who qualifies, how the credit works and how you apply the tax credit to get cash back. Unless the tax credit [...]

Existing Home sales up 7% in July

August 22, 2009 by admin · 1 Comment 

Nationwide existing home sales rose 7.2 percent in July - the first time in five years sales have increased 4 consecutive months and the first time in a decade the month over month gain was over 6 percent, according to a report released Friday. In addition, Nashville has experienced positive price appreciation for 3 consecutive months. The [...]

Federal Tax Credit Used as Down Payment

May 22, 2009 by admin · 9 Comments 

At last week’s NAR Mid-Year Conference in Washington, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, said that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is going to permit its lenders to allow home buyers to “monetize” the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, to be used as a down payment. In his remarks to Realtors, Secretary Donovan indicated that [...]

So, What’s Up With This $8,000 Tax Credit?

February 17, 2009 by admin · 1 Comment 

Last week, as the world knows by now, Congress passed a rather large Economic Stimulus Bill, with President Obama’s signature expected this week. One of its features – a tax credit of up to $8,000 for “first-time home buyers” within a certain income range – is included. It would be incredibly bold of me to [...]