Will $15,000 fix the housing market?
Today, in an effort to jump start the stagnate housing market, the Senate unanimously passed an amendment to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The amendment, if it makes it through Congress, will give every home buyer who purchases a primary residence a $15,000 tax credit. In the amendment's current form, the money will not have to be paid back and is not restricted to first time home buyers. To read the press release, go to http://lieberman.senate.gov/newsroom/release.cfm?id=307684
Will this be it? Will this be the magic bullet that restarts the housing industry, gets buyers off the fence, and puts our builders back to work? This is a tremendous time to trade up, but many people have to sell first. Explaining to a seller that the home they bought in 2006 for $400K is now worth $350K is a hard thing to do. Many sellers are still in denial and are convinced that someone is going to come along and pay $400K because their home is special. Will a $15,000 incentive be the magic amount that will convince sellers to price their homes to sell so that they can become buyers? I believe that this is a promising start.
Imagine buying a certified "green" home that costs 30% less to operate AND getting a $15,000 tax credit to do it! Sounds too good to be true. Now is the time to write your Representative and let them know that you support this amendment... and then call your agent!