TAX CREDIT EXTENDED!

Congress has passed new legislation that:
• Extends the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers until April 30, 2010.
• Expands the credit to grant a $6,500 credit to current home owners purchasing a new or existing home between November 6, 2009 and April 30, 2010.
Here is more information about how the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit can help prospective home buyers become part of the American dream.
Who Qualifies for the Extended Credit?
• First-time home buyers who purchase homes between November 6, 2009 and April 30, 2010.
• Current home owners purchasing a home between November 6, 2009 and April 30, 2010, who have used the home being sold or vacated as a principal residence for five consecutive years within the last eight.

Which Properties Are Eligible?
The Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit may be applied to primary residences, including: single-family homes, condos, townhomes, and co-ops.

How Much Is Available?
The maximum allowable credit for first-time home buyers is $8,000.
The maximum allowable credit for current homeowners is $6,500.

How is a Buyer's Credit Amount Determined?
Each home buyer’s tax credit is determined by two additional factors:
1. The price of the home.
2. The buyer's income.

Price
Under the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit, credit may only be awarded on homes purchased for $800,000 or less.

Buyer Income
Under the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit, which is effective on November 6, 2009, single buyers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000—may receive the maximum tax credit.
These income limits have changed from the 2009 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit limits. If you or your client purchased a home between January 1, 2009 and November 5, 2009, please see 2009 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.

If the Buyer(s)’ Income Exceeds These Limits, Can He/She Still Get a Credit?
Yes, some buyers may still be eligible for the credit.
The credit decreases for buyers who earn between $125,000 and $145,000 for single buyers and between $225,000 and $245,000 for home buyers filing jointly. The amount of the tax credit decreases as his/her income approaches the maximum limit. Home buyers earning more than the maximum qualifying income—over $145,000 for singles and over $245,000 for couples are not eligible for the credit.


Will the Tax Credit Need to Be Repaid?
No. The buyer does not need to repay the tax credit, if he/she occupies the home for three years or more. However, if the property is sold during this three-year period, the full amount credit will be recouped on the sale.


Please let me know if you have any questions on this.

Time left to benefit from the $8,000 tax CREDIT

Ladies and gentlemen, here is the exact amount of time before you can SETTLE on a home to benefit from the $8,000 tax CREDIT from Uncle Sam. If you make less than $90k per year, you are eligible for something and less than $75k on your tax return, you are eligible for the full $8,000! Contact nigel@cbpref.com today to start your pre approval and search so we can help you take advantage of this!!!

For Sale: 3BR/2.5BA Townhouse in Philadelphia, PA, $650,000

Live large just 30 seconds walk from the Piazza in the heart of Northern Liberties. For Sale: 3BR/2.5BA Townhouse in Philadelphia, PA, $650,000

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Tick Tock

The clock is ticking on the November 30 deadline for first time home buyers. This is a direct CREDIT of $8,000 for these eligible folks making $75k or under. Don't miss out on this... Its juicy! And, if you make less than $90k, you are still eligible for a credit... just a lil less. :)

Murano Auction Results

Yup. Despite the huge hype for the anticipated condo auction, people managed to get into the Murano at an average of 25% off list price! $21 million in real estate was sold in 90 minutes from $335k to nearly $800k. The good news for you if you werent there but would consider one of these units: They intend on selling the rest of the 136 available units at comparable prices as to the auction sales. SO, you didnt even have to attend and you still may get a 'fire sale' discount. Bad news for those who bought at full retail prior, though. Ouch.

Greatly Upgraded House

NY Gets it Right

NY has it going on! Philadelphia was supposed to make use of a municpal pier on the Delaware River and turn it into a park. We still have not. However, for those of you either in NYC or visiting it, please do check out the High Line!

Tax Credit Usable as Down Payment

This is huge news. Not only is there an $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers, now the government is allowing these homebuyers the ability to use that money directly at the settlement table toward their closing costs! This is huge! THis means home owners can get into houses for nearly nothing down at amaizng rates! Read on:
WASHINGTON, May 12, 2009

Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said that the Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow homeowners to use the $8,000 tax credit as a downpayment. “We all want to enable FHA consumers to access the home buyer tax credit funds when they close on their home loans so that the cash can be used as a downpayment,” Donovan said. According to Donovan, the FHA’s approved lenders will be permitted to “monetize” the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. This will allow eligible home buyers to access the funds immediately at the closing table.

Here is a link to the full article

Green Towhnomes Tour

Here is a video tour of my listings, the Green Townhomes on Frankford Ave. They are quite extravagant in size and functionality. Take a look:

Global Green USA

I am heading up to ny today for a Global Green USA meet and greet with the President of Global Green and to meet with the President of Coldwell Banker Previews NY. Hob Nobbing pretty heavily, right? Why? Well, I am trying to start a Philadelphia chapter of Global Green. Read about it... its a great charity:

I am meeting with Coldwell Banker Previews because Philadelphia is a darn yummy real estate market for investors. Tomorrow am we have a conference call with some investors from the Middle East. Excited stuff... I love to see investment in my home town!

The business is heating up! Not every seller is completely motivated to a fire sale price... but a lot are! 1 of every 6 home owners nationwide is under water in their mortgage. This means these people owe more than their home is currently worth. This means that if they want to sell, they are in a short sale situation selling below the mortgage amount they owe the bank. Now this isn't the case with most Philadelphia real estate but it is with some! I have recently had some Buyers find some real bargains. We can never tell the Seller's motivation based on an MLS sheet. However, putting an offer out there... often results in great bargains. Look, people need to sell... some more than others. These days, with the tax credit for people earning $75k or less, $150k for a couple, and amazing interest rates, it's idiotic not to buy! Refinancing is a hugely intelligent move as well. I'll detail these things soon but I just wanted to put the birdy in your ears. Reach out to me, nigel@cbpref.com if you think you 'might' wanna buy now. Its a wise move! If you need to sell, we need to market your property very carefully and very well. Polished products priced well are still selling... quickly even.

Union Trust Steak House

A Sunday Funday thru historic Philadelphia and the Italian Market

The Philadelphia Zoning Process of Building in Philly

Philadelphia Sales Stats

I compiled a bunch of statistics for the Center City District of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Business Journal. Yes, I'm a nerd. Here are some interesting figures for ya. Below is a chart of 9 zip codes. On this chart I show the percentage changes in Units Sold, Days On Market, Original List Prices, and Sold Prices.

Three Year Performance, 2006-2008
Units Sold/D.O.M./Orig List/Sold Price/Current Inv Accumulation
19102 39.53% 16.07% -15.29% -20.13% 10
19103 18.18% 27.71% -19.44% -18.64% 10
19106 0.46% 12.50% 5.59% 2.95% 16
19107 -7.48% -1.03% 14.54% 14.16% 13
19123 -75.00% -14.66% -7.34% -11.48% 24
19130 -32.83% -6.02% 2.42% -0.04% 7
19146 -18.00% 28.57% 12.91% 10.27% 10
19147 -27.33% 31.08% -3.77% -6.20% 10
19125 -31.49% 0.00% 10.32% 9.02% 9

Take note of a few things on here. The units sold is down, almost everywhere... as much as 75%! On average, about 35% since 2006. This we know from watching tv, right? The sales prices in the individual zip codes range from down 20% to up 10%! See?! Philadelphia is a relatively healthy market compared to many others in this country right now... and now you can even see by neighborhood.
South Philly (19146) and Fishtown (19125) are the healthiest while center city (19103) got crushed the most! VERY INTERESTING!

The Bike Ride to the Office

The trip to the office is a scenic one and there is plenty to talk about and check out, as shown on this video. Take a gander!