Stimulus bill includes boosts for housing. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (H.R. 1) increases the first-time homebuyer tax credit to $8,000 and eliminates the repayment requirement for buyers who purchase a home between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 1, 2009 (See how the tax credit works). Other housing measures in the bill include:
FHA, Fannie and Freddie loan limits - Higher 2008 limits will be reinstated for 2009, except in communities where the 2009 limit is already higher. (
Link to NAR estimates.)
Foreclosure mitigation and
neighborhood stabilization – Funding will be given to states and municipalities that are recipients of Community Development Block Grant dollars to stabilize neighborhoods and redevelop abandoned and foreclosed homes.
Nationally, prices drop as buyers purchase distressed properties. According to NAR’s 4Q08 report, distressed sales–foreclosures and short sales–accounted for 45 percent of transactions in 4Q08, dragging down the national median existing single-family price to $180,100, which is 12.4 percent below 4Q07 when conditions were more balanced