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2010 Tax Credit Availability; Time is Running Out

Monday, March 1, 2010
by Don Roth

Just a reminder to all the buyers that wish to take advantage of the home buyers tax credit that time is running out quickly. In order to take advantage of the creidt you must have an executed contract dated no later than April 30, 2010 and with a settlement occurring no later than June 30,of this year. There has been some conversation about the extension of the credit but from everything that I have read there is little, if any support in Congress at this time to extend the deadline. Naturally, things change cahnge but i do not expect that to happen again.

As a reminder the First Time Home Buyer Credit is up to $8000 and the first time home buyer is defined as someone that has not owned a home in the last three years. The $6500 tax credit is aimed at people who have lived in a home for at least five consecutive out of the last eight years. There are income considerations for both credits but many potential buyers will be able to qualify for most, if not all of the credit. So if you are considering a home purchase and you combine the tax credit with the very attractive low interest rates, why wait act now before the credits are history.

 

Don Roth to serve as PAR president

Wednesday, January 27, 2010
by Don Roth

Don Roth to serve as PAR president
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
By Kim Shindle

“Changing with the Times” will be the mission of Donald D. Roth as he becomes the 87th president of the PA Association of REALTORS®. His theme will direct the association’s focus to the new issues facing REALTORS®.

Don Roth

Don Roth, PAR Presudent

“Our industry is going through an evolution. We’ve seen boom times and now we’re going through a substantial correction,” Roth said. “PAR has to be responsive to its members. We’re a source of information and we want to continue to provide tools for our members to better serve their clients.”

Roth spent 20 years in the financial industry before becoming a REALTOR® nearly 20 years ago. A REALTOR® with Prudential Homesale Services Groups, he primarily works in the residential market in the greater Harrisburg area.

While Pennsylvania has weathered the difficult economic climate and remained fairly stable, the market has seen a slight increase toward the end of 2009, Roth said. “We’ve seen some improvement in the market since September. More homes are being sold, although most of them are in the lower price range,” he added.

Roth said PAR task forces will continue to work on issues like climate change, educational requirements and appraisal management companies. In addition, a new task force will be appointed to help outline the goals of the new Community Reinvestment Project (CORE), a new PAR cooperative program.

Legislative issues that could affect the real estate industry in the upcoming year will continue to be assessed, Roth said. “Issues like the real estate transfer tax (RTT), reassessments, zoning, point-of-sale requirements all affect how we do business. We want to be at the table to make recommendations to the legislative bodies,” he added.

Roth will be sworn in on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at PAR’s Winter Business Meetings in Harrisburg.

About Kim:
Kim Shindle is the Communications Specialist at the Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS®.

September 2009 Central Pennsylvania Real Estate Report

Thursday, October 15, 2009
by Don Roth

Hello to fall. I’m looking out the window as I write this report after just having come in from the outside and the feel of fall is in the air. I’m sure there will be many of non-fall like temperatures in the coming weeks. We hope!

I am pleased to report the real estate activity for September 2009 compared to September 2008 and the anticipated improvement that I have been speaking about in the past few months is coming to fruition. In addition to the improvement in the real estate market, I have made, I hope, an improvement of how the results are formatted. I have changed the format from municipality to school district because more and more buyers are looking at school districts rather than the municipality. Hopefully, this will give a better comparison since in many instance the school districts overlap more than one municipality. I hope you will find this change beneficial.

The number of homes sold in September 2009 compared to September 2008 declined by 3%, and the average sales price declined by the same 3%. These numbers are the best year over year numbers that we have seen in the Greater Harrisburg Market in some time, and although the coming months may not totally reflect that trend, I think it is again giving home buyers and sellers a true indication of what we can expect in 2010. The average sales price for the area for September was $187,007, and the days on market increased to 78 days. The number of homes available in all residential categories increased slightly to 4,271 properties.

The trend in the type of financing, FHA and VA mortgages, was 45% of the total transaction compared to 27% in 2008. Much of this is still due to the $8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, which will expire November 30, 2009; more on that later. But in retrospect, these results are improving and again that trend should continue.

Average Sales Price: September 2008 vs 2009
West Shore
School District
2008
2009
Days on Market
Camp Hill
$260,198
$183,432
35/47
Cumberland Valley
$279,192
$231,896
49/92
West Shore
$176,870
 $171,422
59/43
Northern
$199,662
$180,053
97/51
Mechanicsburg
$216,954
$174,482
49/53
East Pennsboro
$168,645
$183,885
34/47
East Shore
Central Dauphin
$186,312
$193,990
73/68
Derry Township
 $262,464
$268,353
82/78
Lower Dauphin
$193,199
$248,000
71/134
Middletown
 $137,211
$142,672
52/67

 

As can be seen in this report, as well as previous reports, the variances in price and days on market can be substantial on a month to month basis, but overall, the numbers are representative and only a comparison by neighborhoods will give you the specifics for areas that a buyer or seller may be looking. If you need specific details on neighborhoods, please contact me at Don@DonRoth.com.

With respect to the continuation of the $8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit beyond November 30, please click on the following link
http://www.donroth.com/Blog/First-Time-Home-Buyers-Tax-Credit-May-Be-Extended

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