Some potential benefits for buyers from Obama’s Stimulus Plan:
- $8,000 tax credit – a true credit to a first-time buyer, does not have to be paid back if the buyer lives in the subject property for at least 3 years (begins to phase out for couples earning more than $150k, and singles earning more than $75k) for purchases before December 1, 2009
- Increased Conforming Loan Limits – for the Washington, D.C. metro are, loan limits are back up to $729,750; after Jan 1, loan limits were dropped to $625,500
Some potential benefits for home owners from the plan:
- Home Improvement Tax Credit– Everyone’s talking about going “Green” – now you can get paid for it. Making your condo energy efficient makes you eligible for a credit of 30% of the cost of the improvement, up to a maximum of $1,500 (or a total cost of $4,500).
We will see when these become official, and how they’ll affect the market. With spring around the corner, buyer and seller activity will/is picking up.