Homebuyers' Tax Credit Set To Be Extended By Congress

nytimes.com:

WASHINGTON -- The Senate and House are poised to agree on a compromise measure to extend unemployment benefits that also would expand a popular $8,000 tax credit for homebuyers, despite a recent government report on extensive mistakes and suspected fraud in the program.

Read the whole story: nytimes.com

Comments

[zetacplus]

I'm glad they extended it. I'm going to buy a home now because the $8,000 is too nice an incentive to give up. With real estate values at a more sensible level, and interest rates at historic lows, it's as good a time as any to be buying a home. I'm glad I didn't buy a few years ago at the height of the bubble. I kept wondering why so many people were buying houses at outrageous prices, that was just crazy. Hopefully, my real estate purchase will be a smart investment for years to come.

[olephart]

The expiring home buyers’ credit cost taxpayers about $43,000 per house that was purchased because of the credit. The proposed bill has taxpayer cost estimates of $150,000 to $292,000 per house purchased that otherwise would not have been purchased. This was originally proposed by Republican Senator Isakson, a real estate broker.

[pompous]

This is not socialism at its best. I do not support propping up the housing market to reinflate the bubble. The lack of housing affordability was a symptom of irresponsible loan practices encouraged by Greenspan's artificially low interest rates. There are many homeowners who were just plain irresponsible and enabled by lenders. The market should be allowed to flush the garbage out and begin anew with tighter regulations. Foreclosure from the loss of a job is one thing but foreclosure because you were in over your head to begin with may not be such a bad thing.

[supergenius02]

This is one of the few good things the Congress is doing. So much money wasted on TARP and the Stimulus Bill. I find it funny that many Dems hate the idea of tax cuts and tax credits unless of course they personally benefit like through home loan tax credits.

[Bee]

Thank goodness, because I can't close by the November 30th deadline. I'm going to pay off my credit card with that money.

[MissVirginiaVoter]

Wall Street bonus' (thanks to TARP) should be used in a pool to cut all mortgages to 80% loan to value (give everyone 20% equity).

This would do away with monthly mortgage insurance, reduce total mortgage payment. It would free up a lot of monthly cash flow for the american people. Since it's our money, let us do something that we can "feel" today!

[ThoughtAboutIt]

Any way to keep the housing bubble from deflating more quickly, right?

Let's see what happens when the massive government subsidy of mortgage rates (via the non-Fed Reserve) and home financing (via FHA) disappears. The level of support is unsustainable.

Y2K will return. The housing prices of 2000 that is.

If the Obama Administration wants to spur the economy they should deflate the oil price bubble by imposing position limits in the oil futures market for everyone other than those hedging legitimate business interests in the oil market. We would return to $60/barrel (or less) in a blink and the U.S. economy would benefit

[need more jobs]

A friend asked me if it really is hopeless and I said yes. There will be no meaningful change or reform and things will continued suck1ng they way they have since Reagan.

good articles; http://financeopinionss.blogspot.com

And that was that.