According to analysis of recent Zillow Real Estate Market Reports, U.S. homes lost $489 billion in value during the first 11 months of 2009, significantly less than the $3.6 trillion lost during 2008. Furthermore, 48 of the 154 markets tracked by Zillow, or nearly one in three, showed gains in home values during 2009.

The stabilization in home values reduced rates of negative equity in the third quarter of the year. Twenty-one percent of single-family homeowners had mortgages underwater, or greater than the value of their homes, compared with 23 percent in the second quarter.

Negative equity has been one of the biggest banes of homeowners, making many unqualified for home loan refinancing and preventing some from selling. Borrowers with negative equity are more prone to defaults and foreclosures.

Sales have surged in recent months as buyers scrambled to take advantage of the government's first-time home buyer tax credit, which was originally set to end November 30. Last month the Obama administration extended the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit, added a $6,500 credit for home owners buying a new residence and increased income limits. Eligible borrowers must sign contracts by April 30 and close loans by June 30.

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Best Buyer’s Broker Realty is an Exclusive Buyer Agent specializing in Long Island real estate (Nassau and Suffolk properties) and neighboring Queens County properties.

We don’t take any seller listings (yet we have more homes for you to see than most agents) and never have any potential conflict of interest like other agents who also represent sellers. We represent buyers only, 100% of the time. We can show you more homes for sale because we have access to MLS, FSBOs, Exclusives (homes that agents try to keep secret), foreclosures and homes not on the market that may be of interest to you.

We are not your traditional real estate agent. Our goal is to advise and protect home buyers and help them obtain the lowest price and best terms on their dream home. Call us at 516-887-6901 to see how we can help you save time and money. Or visit our sites at http://bestbuyersbroker.com or http://bestbuyerbroker.com.

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Everyone knows by now that Congress and the President passed an extension to the first time home buyer tax credits that were due to expire at the end of November. Now the questions are rolling in as to how to best take advantage of the new credits.

The measure continues giving an $8,000 tax credit to first-time buyers and now provides a $6,500 tax break to qualified homeowners looking to move up to middle-market homes that cost no more than $800,000.

In addition, the legislation raised the qualifying income levels to $125,000 for individual income tax filers and to $225,000 for joint filers.

For homeowners looking to move up, the legislation would require that they have lived in their current house for five consecutive years out of the last eight.

So you’ve decided to purchase a home and take advantage of the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit.  Here's what you have to do to get your benefit:

Close on your home purchase between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010, or have a binding written contract by April 30, 2010 and close by July 1, 2010.

Decide whether to: 
apply the credit to your 2009 tax return, filed on or before April 15, 2010;
file an amended 2009 return; or,
apply the credit on your 2010 return, filed on or before April 15, 2011.

Attach documentation of purchase to your return.

If you have questions about the home buyer tax credits that we have not covered on this site or in this article, use the comment link below and ask us anything you need to know. Your email address, while needed to post a comment (for purposes of filtering out spammers) is never published on this site with your comments. We'd love to hear from you.

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Best Buyer’s Broker Realty is an Exclusive Buyer Agent specializing in Long Island real estate (Nassau and Suffolk properties) and neighboring Queens County properties.

We don’t take any seller listings (yet we have more homes for you to see than most agents) and never have any potential conflict of interest like other agents who also represent sellers. We represent buyers only, 100% of the time. We can show you more homes for sale because we have access to MLS, FSBOs, Exclusives (homes that agents try to keep secret), foreclosures and homes not on the market that may be of interest to you.

We are not your traditional real estate agent. Our goal is to advise and protect home buyers and help them obtain the lowest price and best terms on their dream home. Call us at 516-887-6901 to see how we can help you save time and money. Or visit our sites at http://bestbuyersbroker.com or http://bestbuyerbroker.com.

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Existing home sales surged in October to the highest level in more than 2-1/2 years. The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales rose 10.1% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.1 million units, up from the downwardly revised rate of 5.54 million in September.

Also, the S&P Case-Schiller composite index rose slightly on a seasonally adjusted basis. The country was roughly split between areas where home prices increased during the month and areas where housing values continue to decline.

Sales activity is the highest since February 2007, when the annual rate was 6.55 million. The gain was likely due to an influx of buyers looking to take advantage of an $8,000 tax credit the Obama administration made available for qualified first-time home buyers.

The tax credit was scheduled to expire at the end of November, but it has been extended to April 30 and expanded to include more home buyers.

Total existing home sales rose the most in the Midwest, surging 14.4% in October to a pace of 1.43 million. That's 28.8% above a year ago. In the Northeast, sales rose 11.6% to an annual level of 1.06 million; sales in the South jumped 12.7% to 2.30 million; and the West saw the smallest increase, up 1.6% to 1.31 million.

It is encouraging to see home prices rise as well. If this continues, some of the people in underwater houses (meaning with a mortgage more than the value of the house) might just see the flood recede and regain some positive equity in the house. This would greatly reduce the number of foreclosures in the future. It would make it an economically rational thing for people to pay their mortgages again.

All in all, the increase in home prices is good news, but it is coming with a big price from the Federal Treasury. The risk of a renewed downturn in the second quarter of 2010 is very big. If that were to occur, it would mean more pain for the mortgage complex.

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Best Buyer’s Broker Realty is an Exclusive Buyer Agent specializing in Long Island real estate (Nassau and Suffolk properties) and neighboring Queens County properties.

We don’t take any seller listings (yet we have more homes for you to see than most agents) and never have any potential conflict of interest like other agents who also represent sellers. We represent buyers only, 100% of the time. We can show you more homes for sale because we have access to MLS, FSBOs, Exclusives (homes that agents try to keep secret), foreclosures and homes not on the market that may be of interest to you.

We are not your traditional real estate agent. Our goal is to advise and protect home buyers and help them obtain the lowest price and best terms on their dream home. Call us at 516-887-6901 to see how we can help you save time and money. Or visit our sites at http://bestbuyersbroker.com or http://bestbuyerbroker.com.

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