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October
14, 2009
Tips & Trends
From
Rory S. Coakley on some of the latest real estate news and
happenings.
More tax credits needed, says real estate
industry
Agents,
homebuilders, Cardin want federal help extended
As Maryland's Realtors celebrated their association's new
headquarters Monday, some are rallying support to extend
the federal $8,000 first-time homebuyers tax credit, which
expires Nov. 30.
The tax credit, which was enacted this year to give the
housing market a shot in the arm, has been a huge help to
the homebuilding industry, said John Kortecamp, executive
vice president and CEO of the Home Builders Association
of Maryland.
"It's gotten people off the sidelines," Kortecamp said.
Several
bills have been filed to extend, and even expand, the program.
One by Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D) of Pikesville would extend
the program by six months until June 1. Another by Georgia
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R) would increase the maximum amount
of the credit to $15,000, eliminate income caps of $75,000
for an individual and $150,000 for a couple, and apply it
to all buyers. Both of those proposals are in the Senate
Finance Committee.
The homebuilder group supports providing as much
incentive as possible in light of the immense spinoff benefits
to the economy related to new housing construction, Kortecamp
said.
Maryland's homebuilding industry is in a stronger
position than those in most states, Kortecamp said. New
single-family building permits issued this year through
August are down only 19 percent from a year ago in Maryland,
compared with a national decline of 33 percent, according
to figures from the National Association of Home Builders
and the U.S. Census Bureau.
Sales of existing homes in the state increased by 13.6 percent
in August from the same time last year, according to figures
from the Maryland Association of Realtors. That was the
fourth consecutive month in which sales have risen. The
median price of existing homes sold in Maryland in August
was $265,862, down 10 percent from a year earlier.
Maryland is benefiting from a lower unemployment rate than
most of the nation and the spurt caused by the Pentagon's
base realignment plan, Kortecamp said.
The Maryland Association of Realtors also supports extending
the federal tax credit. Cardin and others spoke Monday at
the group's ribbon-cutting ceremony for its larger 13,000-square-foot
headquarters in Annapolis.
"The collapse of the housing market was one of the major
contributing factors that led to this economic downturn
and recession, and its resurgence will be one of the factors
that will help pull us out," Cardin said in a statement.
Source: Kevin James Shay, The Gazette
If
you would like to suggest a topic for comment in one of
our future emailers, please let me know. You can always
reach me at rory@coakleyrealty.com
or by phone (240)-205-7298 ext. 101. I look forward to hearing
from you!
Rory
S. Coakley
Coakley Realty, Inc.
20 Courthouse Square - Suite 106
Rockville, MD 20850
www.coakleyrealty.com
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