There are millions of homeowners that are parents waiting for their advance child tax credits to arrive; however, they might not be sure exactly how much money they are going to get. This makes it difficult to set a budget.
For certain members of the military, and for certain federal employees, there's just 2 months remaining to get use the federal home buyer tax credit.
The housing market continues to expand, and surprise.
After improving 1 percent in August, New Home Sales popped another 7 percent in September. It's no wonder homebuilder confidence is at a 5-month high.
The press is referring to the May New Home Sales report as "poor". A closer look, however, shows that may not be the case.
Contrary to what you may have read (or heard), the federal home buyer tax credit has not been extended past June 30, 2010. At least not yet.
April marks the third straight month that pending home sales are up and today's buyers should take note. This is because, according to the National Association of Realtors®, 80% of homes under contract close within 60 days.
A Housing Start is a new home on which construction has started and, over the last 6 months, home builders are averaging one half-million starts per month. This marks the highest 6-month average since 2008 and a reading one-fifth percent better from 12 months ago. Revisions to prior data have all been higher, too.
If you're under contract for a home and plan to close in May, consider a closing date other than Friday May 28, 2010.
As expected, Existing Home Sales fell in February, slipping 30,000 units versus January's numbers. It's the 4th straight month in which Existing Home Sales were lower, month-over-month. But it may not last long.
Standard & Poors released its Case-Shiller Index Wednesday. The report shows that, on a seasonally-adjusted basis, between December and January, home prices rose in more than half of the index's tracked markets. The strength of this month's Case-Shiller report, however, should be put in context.
There's just 30 days remaining to use the federal home buyer tax credit. The credit ranges up to $8,000 for first-time homebuyers, and up to $6,500 for existing homeworkers who have lived in their main home for 5 of the last 8 years.