While the Federal Housing Tax Credit ended April 30th, you can still take advantage of the California New Home and First-Time Buyer Credits. Qualified buyers may be eligible for tax credits spread over 3 consecutive years totaling 5% of purchase price up to $10,000. State funds are running out so don’t miss this opportunity.

New San Jose Home Buyers who qualify for the New Home Buyer Credit may, but are not required to, request a reservation to a New Condo prior to the close of escrow. New condo reservations will become important as we near the $100 million cap! Any new condos that may not close escrow before the cap is reached should make a reservation with the developer. The reservation will “hold the taxpayer’s/home buyers place in line” until 2 weeks after escrow closes. Taxpayers/home buyers should only request a reservation if they have entered into an enforceable contract on or after May 1, 2010, and on or before December 31, 2010. Home buyers may not reserve a credit if the contract was entered into before May 1, 2010. Taxpayers/Home buyers who only qualify for the First-Time Buyer Credit may not request a reservation.

Requesting or receiving a reservation does not guarantee the credit. An application must still be completed and faxed to FTB along with the final settlement statement within two weeks after the close of escrow. If a buyer requests a reservation and the purchase is canceled, the buyer must notify FTB.

So if you have thought about buying into the many New San Jose High Rises downtown and would like to make use of a free $10k credit, let us help you make the deadline.

* Not intended for the purpose of providing legal, accounting tax advice, or tax consulting of any kind. Please consult with your tax advisor for complete details.

Fannie Mae announced the extension of its buyer assistance incentive on all Fannie Mae-owned HomePath properties. Buyers will receive 3.5 percent of the final sales price to be used toward closing cost assistance or their choice of selected appliances. The offer is available to any owner-occupant who closes on the purchase of a property listed on www.HomePath.com by June 30, 2010.

Properties listed on www.HomePath.com are owned by Fannie Mae and include a wide selection of homes, including single-family homes, condominiums, and town houses. HomePath properties may also be eligible for special HomePath Mortgage and HomePath Renovation Mortgage financing, which offers prospective buyers an opportunity to purchase properties with as little as 3 percent down.

See properties listed on HomePath.com For Sale in Santa Clara County

Here are the key benefits of a HomePath® financing Loan: 

Only 3% down required on a primary residence property* 

No mortgage insurance required** 

No property appraisal required 

Only 10% down on 1-unit investment properties 

Allows investors to finance up to ten properties 

For more information about the program and to find out if you qualify call Kenny Stephen of Prospect Mortgage, 415.412.3363. You will be glad you did! 

I don’t think so. The $ 8,000 housing tax credit extension is officially no longer available to new home buyers. Also no longer available is the $6,500 credit that was the carrot for current homeowners to move up to a bigger better home. Gone, Gone, Gone.  

But I must say that I only got a last minute push from one of my buyers to try and get in under the deadline. And after some serious back and forth with the sellers we were not able to come to terms. Does this mean they give up their search and go off into the sunset. Not exactly since the credit will now be reflected as lower offers. Don’t get me wrong I had buyers that would liked to have been in contract in time to collect on $8k but when searching homes in the $450k to $550k range it’s not going to be THE deciding factor.

So will San Jose’s housing market take a fall, given that the $75 billion mortgage bailout is over. Highly unlikely seeing that the Silicon Valley Real Estate Market is and has been strong this last year.

If your still interested in buying a home give me a call!  

As of Today April 7th 2010, the Mortgage Bankers Association put the national average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 5.31 percent. One week ago, it was 5.04 percent.

The question is what does this really mean for me as a San Jose CA home buyer? It’s all about affordability. For every 1 percentage point rise in rates, ( San Jose homes priced between $400,000 to $500,000 ) would-be buyers are priced out of the market in a given year, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The rule of thumb is that every 1 percentage point increase in mortgage rates reduces a buyer’s purchasing power by about 10 percent.

For example, taking out a 30-year mortgage for $300,000 at a rate of 5 percent will cost you about $1,600 a month, not including taxes and insurance. But the same monthly payment at a rate of 6 percent will only get you a loan of $270,000.

The next big question is what will this do to home prices? The banks will still need to sell their San Jose foreclosure listings but their going to have to do so at a lower cost. If the once $300K home buyer still wants to purchase then they will do so at the new $270k range.

Dropping home prices might be expected but Silicon Valley Real Estate might not see a 10% decrease due to our stronger real estate market.

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