Monthly Archives: January 2010

Tax Credit Perks

There are a lot of tax credit perks. The new law that was extended past November 30, 2009 has a lot of benefits. The new law applies to step up buyers moving up to their next home. If you have lived in your home as the primary residence for 5 of the last 8 years then you qualify. See links below for more helpful information.

But did you know that if you are stepping up and having trouble selling your home, you can still qualify without actually selling the first home. But. . . you must purchase the second home as your primary residence.  Not too bad. It is time to move. . . . Are you ready?

“There is no requirement that existing homeowners must have sold their home to be eligible for the $6,500 tax credit. However, Weichert encourages existing homeowners who want to benefit from this incentive to move quickly, particularly those who prefer to first sell their current home before purchasing a new one.” Quoted from : RIS Media – Repeat Buyers Need to Act Fast to Capitalize on Expanded Tax Credit

Tax Credit Details

Additional Tax Credit Details from Realtor.org

Frequently Ask Tax Credit Questions

AKHome.info Tax Credit Archives

Other Real Estate Markets

It is really interesting to me to hear about other real estate markets and what things sell for around the country and the world. One of my favorite TV channels is HGTV. I love watching people compare and pick out houses.   I also enjoy seeing how they decorate them after a few months of living there. It also gives you a really interesting view of these various markets. Sometimes you can see some very strange and exotic things.

One of show that really sticks in my mind is a House Hunters. The couple on this show was looking for a home in the Mediterranean. I cannot remember if it was Greece or not. They picked a house that I thought they would not because the long walk and steps to the door on the side of the hill was lengthy. This couple ended up buying it for $750,000 US right on the sea and believe it or not it still needed fixing up. It was practically ruins and had no plumbing. I wonder how they dealt with that on the side of a hill. I have no idea how they would get their furniture up there but they may need a mule.

Here is another interesting house that sold recently in NY City called the Skinniest House that was reported by Realtor.org and the Associated Press

” ‘Skinniest House’ Sells for $2.1 million;” A property dubbed New York City’s skinniest house sold recently for $2.1 million. The two-story Greenwich Village property is 9.5 feet wide and 42 feet long and has two bedrooms and two baths. The townhouse was listed last August for $2.7 million by Alex Nicholas, senior vice president of the Corcoran Group. It last sold in 2000 for $1.6 million. It is now for rent for $10,000 per month.”

Also see this Article From Washington City Paper, where the photo is from – by Ruth Samuelson.

Pittsburgh Ranks Number One

The housing market has had its ups and downs this past year, but if you live in Pittsburgh, PA or the surrounding area, you are in a great place. Pittsburgh never had a housing bubble and is expected to be number one this year with growth in the housing market.

If you are not from the area and are thinking of moving to a new city, what a great opportunity for one of your biggest investments, your home.

“If there’s a bright spot, it’s pockets of the Midwest — states like the Dakotas, Kansas, and Nebraska, which have stronger economies based on agricultural and energy industries.

Then there’s Pittsburgh, which didn’t have much of a housing bubble to begin with and is the only market projected to grow next year, up 0.41%.” Â Â Â -Quoted from CNN/Money.com

According to this article above Pittsburgh is the number one city in the Nation for increased price change projection form 2010.

The Pittsburgh area with its seven counties generally ranks in in the top 50 most affordable US housing markets according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI).

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Photo Copyright, 2009, Amy S Myers

Real Snowflakes

Hope you are keeping warm this season. This is the most snow that I have seen in my life over the Christmas season living in the Pittsburgh Area (or NJ where I grew up). It was so cold last night and the snow was glistening out the back door. So before heading up to bed I had to shoot some snowflakes. They did not come out too bad considering a macro lens was not used. The photos are only cropped. No color editing was done. Happy New Year!

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photos copyright 2010, Amy S Myers