Potential Abuse From First Time Homebuyer $8K Credit Program?
Apparently, so. The IRS is investigating more than 100,000 suspicious claims for possible abuse of this program that has helped prop the entry level real estate market over the past few months, so says the Wall Street Journal. And as I heard from Ebby Halliday herself last week, the real estate industry is lobbying for an extension of the program. One proposal would stretch the date ’till June, 2010, and also raise the income ceiling on participants:
“One proposal by Sen. Johnny Isakson (R., Ga.) and others to extend the credit and make it available to all home buyers through June 2010 carries a price tag of about $16.7 billion. That proposal would raise the income ceiling for eligible home buyers to $150,000 per year for an individual and $300,000 for a couple. Currently the credit phases out for individuals earning more than $75,000 and married couples earning more than $150,000.”
Of course, there is the usual whining from those who claim this program, as well as the standard mortgage deduction, is nothing more than welfare for the middle and upper classes.
Dallas Realtors tell me the program has helped keep our local market hopping, particularly with affordable homes and in such entry-level neighborhoods as Little Forest Hills and others bordering Lakewood, east of Central.
“The under $300K market is really showing improvement,” said David Brown with MetroStudy. “The biggest weakness is in the $500,000 and up market, because there’s no secondary market for jumbos.”
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