EPA Opens Green Homes Website As Resource For Home Buyers and Prospective Renters Alike

 

Home owners, buyers and renters have a new resource for going green indoors and out. The EPA’s new Green Homes Website will help people make their homes greener with tips on reducing energy consumption, carbon footprints, waste generation and water usage, as well as improving indoor air quality. The latest federal survey of American housing in 2007 reported 128 million housing units across the US, accounting for nearly 54 percent of our national energy consumption and nearly 31 percent of all US carbon dioxide emissions, the most common greenhouse gas contributing to climate change. Many green building practices and technologies have yet to make a dent in the existing residential market, in part because it is hard for people to find clear, consolidated, readily accessible, and credible information. The Green Homes Website addresses that need by providing guidance on approaches to greening each room of the home as well as the surrounding yard. Information also is available on building new homes and finding an energy- efficient mortgage, which takes into account the savings derived from energy efficient homes to enable the applicant to qualify for better terms. Renters will find information to help them identify a green property before moving in and tips for working with their landlord to add green features to an existing property. Users can also find references, such as a list of common green home terms, and links to dozens of EPA Websites with more specific information on a wide variety of green home topics. As a Certified Green Building Professional and an Energy Star Partner with the EPA, I think this is a tremendous resource for residents everywhere.  As awareness of green building grows, so will demand for green built homes grow with it.  As an additional resource, Lexington Luxury Builders has instituted our Green Initiatives program, which is our commitment to building energy efficient, green built homes in Plano, Dallas and other area throughout the DFW Metroplex.  Please visit our Green Initiatives website to learn more.  Lexington has also introduced Lexington Park in Downtown Plano, the area’s first neighborhood comprised entirely of green built homes.  Lexington Park in Plano has made an entire phase of Certified Green Built Homes available for lease.  Very rare for rental real estate, at Lexington Park renters will enjoy all of the benefits of living green, including homes which have met the EPA standards for Indoor Air Quality.  Visit the Lexington Park Leasing website for further information and the Lexington Wiki to explore our ever expanding library of green building resources.

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Information on the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit

 

The following article provides detailed information about the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit directly from the IRS.  We’ve provided this detailed, technical information as a service to our readers and customers.  This article is a little dry, for my liking, but it is, after all, from the IRS and they are the authority.

 

New Legislation New legislation, the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009, which was signed into law on Nov. 6, 2009, extends and expands the first-time homebuyer credit allowed by previous Acts. The new law: Extends deadlines for purchasing and closing on a home. Authorizes the credit for long-time homeowners buying a replacement principal residence. Raises the income limitations for homeowners claiming the credit.  Under the new law, an eligible taxpayer must buy, or enter into a binding contract to buy, a principal residence on or before April 30, 2010 and close on the home by June 30, 2010. For qualifying purchases in 2010, taxpayers have the option of claiming the credit on either their 2009 or 2010 return.   For the first time, long-time homeowners who buy a replacement principal residence may also claim a homebuyer credit of up to $6,500 (up to $3,250 for a married individual filing separately). They must have lived  in the same principal residence for any five-consecutive year period during the eight-year period that ended on the date the replacement home is purchased. People with higher incomes can now qualify for the credit. The new law raises the income limits for homes purchased after Nov. 6, 2009. The credit phases out for individual taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) between $125,000 and $145,000 or between $225,000 and $245,000 for joint filers. The existing MAGI phase-outs of $75,000 to $95,000 or $150,000 to $170,000 for joint filers still apply to purchases on or before Nov. 6, 2009. Several new restrictions apply to homes purchased after Nov. 6, 2009. Purchasers must attach a properly executed settlement statement to their return. No credit is available if the purchase price of the home exceeds $800,000. The purchaser must be at least 18 years old on the date of purchase. For a married couple, only one spouse must meet this age requirement. A dependent is not eligible for the credit. The new law gives the IRS broader authority to deny first-time homebuyer credit claims, without having to first audit a taxpayer’s return. Known as math error authority, this authority applies, retroactively, to credits claimed on original and amended 2008 returns, as well as to claims yet to be filed. Additionally, there are new benefits for members of the military and certain other federal employees: Members of the uniformed services, members of the Foreign Service and employees of the intelligence community serving outside the US have an extra year to buy a principal residence in the US and qualify for the credit. In many cases, the credit repayment (recapture) requirement is waived for members of the uniformed services, members of the Foreign Service and employees of the intelligence community. More information on these new benefits for the military, Foreign Service and intelligence community serving outside the US is available.    General Information Homebuyers who purchased a home in 2008, 2009 or 2010 may be able to take advantage of the first-time homebuyer credit. The credit: Applies only to homes used as a taxpayer’s principal residence. Reduces a taxpayer’s tax bill or increases his or her refund, dollar for dollar. Is fully refundable, meaning the credit will be paid out to eligible taxpayers, even if they owe no tax or the credit is more than the tax owed. The credit is claimed using Form 5405, which you file with your original or amended tax return. For 2008 Home Purchases The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 established a tax credit for first-time homebuyers that can be worth up to $7,500. For homes purchased in 2008, the credit is similar to a no-interest loan and must be repaid in 15 equal, annual installments beginning with the 2010 income tax year. For 2009 Home Purchases The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 expanded the first-time homebuyer credit by increasing the credit amount to $8,000 for purchases made in 2009 before Dec. 1. However, the new Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009 has extended the deadline. Now, taxpayers who have a binding contract to purchase a home before May 1, 2010, are eligible for the credit. Buyers must close on the home before July 1, 2010. [Added Nov. 12, 2009] For home purchased in 2009, the credit does not have to be paid back unless the home ceases to be the taxpayer’s main residence within a three-year period following the purchase. First-time homebuyers who purchase a home in 2009 can claim the credit on either a 2008 tax return, due April 15, 2009, or a 2009 tax return, due April 15, 2010. The credit may not be claimed before the closing date. But, if the closing occurs after April 15, 2009, a taxpayer can still claim it on a 2008 tax return by requesting an extension of time to file or by filing an amended return. News release 2009-27 has more information on these options. Questions and Answers More information is available in the question and answer section. Related Items IR-2009-83, First-Time Homebuyer Credit Provides Tax Benefits to 1.4 Million Families to Date The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Information Center Updated Nov. 17, 2009, to add more information on the new legislation Technorati Tags: tax credit,stimulus,home buyer tax credit,housing stimulus,irs,taxes,economy,housing tax credit,first time buyer tax credit,lexington luxury builders,scott schaefer

Economic and Housing Market Key Indicators

The National Association of Realtors reported positive news on the housing front at the beginning of the month.  The realtor group’s Pending Home Sales Index rose for the seventh straight month in August.  While encouraging, the fate of a housing market recovery is more than likely now in the hands of the broader economy.  With persisting high unemployment and uncertain consumers, housing demand is not likely to substantially increase until there are more convincing signs we are in a true recovery phase.

The Economy
The consumer price index in September increased slightly driven by higher transportation and energy costs.  The consumer price index in September increased 0.1% from August on a non-seasonally adjusted basis and increased 0.2% from the previous month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.  The core-CPI, which excludes the food and energy portions that are seen by some as skewing the index by virtue of their volatility, increased 0.2% from August on a non-seasonally adjusted basis while also increasing 0.2% from the previous month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.  On an unadjusted basis, headline CPI fell 1.3% from its year ago levels while core CPI increased 1.5% year-over-year in September.  This is the seventh straight month that headline consumer prices have recorded a year-over-year decline.  It will be important to keep an eye on inflation going forward due to rising crude prices and the massive government spending that has taken place to restore the economy.

US retail sales fell 1.5% in September due to the expiration of the Cash for Clunkers program which caused auto sales to fall 10.4% from the previous month.  However, excluding auto sales, retail sales increased a better than expected 0.5%.  The increase gives hope that consumers are starting to spend money again even though unemployment is still rising.  Obviously though, such a trend is unsustainable unless the economy sees a return to job growth conditions.  The drop off in auto sales from the ending of the Cash for Clunkers program may also be instructive when it comes to the housing tax credit, which expires in November.  Should the home buyer tax credit be allowed to expire, we will likely see an impact on home sales during what is already a seasonably slow time of year.

Housing Market
The National Association of Realtor’s Pending Home Sales Index increased 6.4% to a reading of 103.8 in August from a reading of 97.6 in July.  This was the seventh straight month in which the index has increased and the highest it has been since March 2007.

National average mortgage rates increased from the previous week to 4.92% in the latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey released weekly by Freddie Mac on October 15th.  This is the first time mortgage rates have recorded a weekly gain since the end of August.  It is the second straight week that mortgage rates have averaged less than 5.0% while remaining at historically low levels.  In the week ending October 12th, the MBA’s seasonally-adjusted purchase index dropped 5.0% from the previous week and was down 7.32% compared to the same time last year.  Purchase applications were coming off their highest levels since the beginning of the year in the previous week.  Lower rates have spurred mortgage application activity over the past several weeks.

 

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Brand New Condos For Lease In Plano…Now Get Two Month’s Free Rent

Get Two Month’s Free Rent!! New 2 Bedroom Plano Condo For Rent 1624 Carpenter Drive Lexington Park in Downtown Plano – $1,250 per month Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 2 Parking Spaces: 2 Year Built: 2009 Subdivision: Lexington Park at Rice Field Lot Size: Zero Garage Size: 2 Car School District: Plano ISD Square Footage: 1,658 Agent Name: Scott Schaefer Broker: Lexington Luxury Builders Living Areas: One – 2nd Floor Plan Name: Harrington Architecture: Heritage Neighborhood Type: Transit Energy Star Rating: Energy Star Certified Indoor Air Pkg: EPA Qualified Advanced Lighting Pkg: EPA Qualified Rent: $1,250 per month Available Date: Thu Oct 01, 2009 Deposit: 1,000 Minimum Lease: One Year Credit Purchase Option: Available 1624 Carpenter Drive Plano, TX 75074 View Map View More Photos Leasing Info Brochure Green Initiatives Lexington Blog Property Lexington Website Range/Oven Dishwasher Sink Disposal Microwave Satellite Air Filtration Mechanical Venting Energy Star Appliances Stainless Steel Pkg Fire Sprinkler System Full Alarm System Jetta Whirlpool Tub Carbon Monoxide Pkg Fiber Optic FIOS Structured Wiring Surround Sound Advanced Lighting Pkg Dimplex Fireplace Indoor Air Pkg Fireplace Hardwood Floors Security System Kitchen Island Vaulted Ceilings Attic Oak Staircases Green Cocoon Insulation Granite Countertops Full Tile Backsplashes Master Sitting Area Custom Trim & Millwork Two Story Foyer Framed Beveled Mirrors Upgraded Hardware Grass Lawn Neighborhood Park Eco/Xeriscaping Transit Neighborhood Premium Lot Puppy Park Hike/Bike Trails DART Light Rail Access Walk To Shopping 35 Yr Pinnacle Roof Lawn Sprinkler Sound Insulation Brick Sidewalks Performance Windows Full Landscape Brand new home in Plano featuring hardwood floors, custom trim, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, upgraded lighting, hardware and plumbing fixtures, oversized closets, oak staircases and much more. Conceived and built by Dallas Certified Green Builder Scott Schaefer and Lexington Luxury Builders, Lexington Park is a sustainable, environmentally friendly neighborhood located 2 blocks from the Downtown Plano DART rail station. Lexington Park offer residents advanced cost saving features: High performance energy ratings provide lower utility costs, built-in fire sprinklers reduce homeowners insurance costs, a DART rail station 2 blocks from Lexington Park reduces transportation costs, xeriscaping reduces landscape water requirements. These cost savings will benefit you every month you live at Lexington Park. Master Suites are luxurious retreats, encompassing the entire top floor of the home, providing expansive views of the area. Master Bedrooms boast architecturally sloped ceilings, relaxing sitting areas, and grand bathrooms with oversized Jetta tubs, separate showers, custom cabinets, and beveled mirrors. Fully equipped Kitchens feature eco-friendly Green Edge hardwood floors by Shaw, custom cabinets, slab granite countertops, undermount double stainless steel sinks, full tile backsplashes, Energy Star rated Frigidaire stainless steel appliances and professionally layered ambient, task and accent lighting. With energy saving and indoor air quality features, these new Plano homes are Energy Star rated and are certified Green Built by Green Built North Texas. These homes meet EPA Indoor Air Quality and Advanced Lighting standards. High efficiency, 14 SEER Lennox air conditioning and high efficiency furnaces are included, as are advanced zero-emission fireplaces, Rinnai continuous water heaters, recycled Green Fiber Insulation and countless other energy saving features. Two bedroom condos start at $1,250 per month. Contact Scott Schaefer at Lexington Luxury Builders 214-369-4900 to explore this extraordinary leasing opportunity or visit www.lexingtonluxurybuilders.com before these incentives, and the homes, are all gone. Scott Schaefer lexingtondallas@live.com 214-369-4900 Cell 214-354-2228   Powered by vFlyer.com Equal Housing Opportunity VFLYER ID: 2852420

All information in this site is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and is subject to change

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Texas To Lead Economic Recovery

SAN ANTONIO (San Antonio Business Journal) – Four major metropolitan areas in Texas will be among the first in the nation to recover from the recession, according to a nationwide forecast by IHS Global Insight.

San Antonio and Austin will lead the way, bouncing back to their prerecession job levels sometime next year, predicts the Lexington, Massachusetts based economic forecasting firm.

Houston and Dallas–Fort Worth are among eight other metropolitan areas predicted to recover by 2011.

Although, I have seen conflicting data that has these Texas cities flipped, with Dallas-Plano-Irving and Houston leading the way, with Austin and San Antonio following closely behind.  Either way, the hits just keep on coming, providing undeniable evidence that Texas is – and will remain – the place to be.  And, with new home inventory shrinking in the DFW Metroplex to healthy market levels, the outlook in North Texas is bright, indeed.

 

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Dallas Home Prices Firm in Latest Study 1.6% Decline Smallest in Two Years

Dallas home prices fell by the smallest percentage in almost two years in the latest housing market snapshot.

DFW prices were down only 1.6 percent in July from a year earlier in the closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller home price index.

And local home prices were up from June to July, the fifth consecutive month of increases. The July figure is also the highest point in the home price index since last September.

The small annual decline in North Texas home prices is a big improvement from earlier in the year, when the Case-Shiller index showed that prices were falling by more than 5% from 2008.

The just-released data is more proof that home price declines bottomed in North Texas in early 2009.

“The rate of annual decline in home price values continues to decelerate, and we now seem to be witnessing some sustained monthly increases across many markets,” Standard & Poor’s David Blitzer said Tuesday in the report. “These figures continue to support an indication of stabilization in national real estate values.”

Analysts are keeping an eye on how the housing market reacts later this year when a popular federal home buying tax credit expires.

Nationwide home prices in July were still 13.3 percent below where they were a year earlier. But the index has been higher for three consecutive months, a strong indication that home prices have bottomed out.

US home prices are still almost 30 percent below their peak in mid-2006.

In the DFW area, July home prices were about 4 percent less than they were at the top of the market here in June 2007.  The Case-Shiller numbers add to growing evidence that the worst of the North Texas home price shakeout is over.

So far in 2009, the median home sales prices have dropped only about 2 percent in the residential sales industry’s Multiple Listing Service.  And the Case-Shiller decline estimate is even less.

“That’s really saying prices are flat,” said David Brown, who heads housing analyst Metrostudy’s Dallas office. “That’s a very small number.”  This while some areas of the country are still seeing big home price reductions.

In Las Vegas, prices were down 31.4 percent in July from a year earlier, according to Case-Shiller. Values dropped by 28 percent in Phoenix and 24.6 percent in Detroit.

Case-Shiller tracks the prices of typical single-family homes in each metropolitan area. The index does not include condominiums and townhouses. It only covers pre-owned properties – no new construction. The Case-Shiller researchers compare sales of specific properties over time.

Plano Texas, Dallas’ affluent northern suburb, is faring even better, of late.  Analysis prepared by Altos Research which are updated daily, shows trend lines in the Plano housing market with declining inventory and increasing median prices.  Lexington Luxury Builders provides these Plano Housing Market Charts for the convenience of our readers.

 

Original Article reported by STEVE BROWN | The Dallas Morning News

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US Housing Market Update

New home sales increased for the fifth straight month in August fueled by builder incentives, low mortgage rates, attractive prices and the homebuyer tax credit.  New home sales increased 0.7% from the previous month to an annual rate of 429,000 units.  New home sales for the previous three months were also revised higher by 9,000 units.  The annual pace of new home sales is now at the highest level since September 2008.   Median new home prices in August declined to $195,200 from an upwardly revised $215,600 in July.  Median new home prices are now 11.7% lower than the same year-ago period hitting their lowest level since October 2003.  The median new home price has now recorded eight straight months of year-over-year declines.  For those of you keeping score, that means that new home prices have retreated to the lowest level in six years.  For those who are still sitting on the fence, thinking about buying a home, but too cautious to commit, remember that fortune favors the bold, and a year from now you’ll wish you had pulled the trigger on your purchase in October 2009.  We have hit bottom. New  home inventories declined to 261,000 from July’s figure of 271,000 as the decline in the number of new homes for sale has now continued unabated, failing to record a monthly increase since May 2007.  Seasonally-adjusted inventory of unsold homes have now declined for 28 straight months to 262,000 units.  Declining inventory levels and increased demand for new homes in August helped inventory (when viewed as the number of months of supply at the present rate of sales) improve to its lowest level since January 2007, declining from 7.6 months supply in July to 7.3 months in August.  With inventory on the decline and demand remaining steady, inventory is falling back towards the 6 months of supply that is considered normal in a healthy housing market. Existing home sales in August fell for the first time in five months despite favorable mortgage rates and lower prices.  Annualized sales of existing homes declined 2.7% from July levels to 5.10 million units.  Existing single-family home sales declined 2.8% from last month to 4,480,000 units while condo and co-op sales were down 1.6% from July to 620,000 units.  However, sales of existing homes are still up 3.4% from their same year-ago levels of 4.93 million units.  This is the second straight month that existing home sales have recorded year-over-year increases. Existing home inventory dropped to its lowest level since January last month.  Inventory of existing homes dropped almost 11% to 3,622,000 units from 4,062,000 units in July.  Months of existing inventory dropped last month to 8.5 months of supply on the market, reaching the lowest level since April 2007. Mortgage rates declined last week to 4.94% in the latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey released October 1st.  Rates have not increased since the end of August and are now at their lowest levels since the end of May.  For more detailed information on the indicators discussed in this article, please visit the following links: Employment Growth Existing Home Sales Unemployment Rate Existing Home Inventory Real GDP Growth Existing Home Affordability Consumer Confidence Median Price New Home Purchase Mortgage Applications New Home Sales Mortgage Rates New Home Inventory Median Price Existing Home New Home Affordability Ratio Technorati Tags: housing,housing market recovery,economy,housing inventory,new home sales,home prices,housing demand,lexington luxury builders,scott schaefer