Stimulus For Housing

Congress has passed and the President has signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Since the bill itself is more than 1000 pages long, it would be ludicrous to attempt to summarize it here. However, as it relates to residential real estate, the bill seems to have two primary benefits.
First, there is a true $8000 tax credit for homebuyers who have not owned a home during the past three years. While the previous $7500 tax credit had to be repaid over 15 years, this $8000 tax credit does not have to be repaid. Also, this tax credit program has been extended until December 1, 2009. The provisions related to income limits remain the same.
The second real estate element of the bill reinstates the higher loan limits for FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In the greater Tulsa market the FHA loan limit is $271,050 and for both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac the maximum loan is $417,000. The reinstatement of these loan limits is designed “to make mortgages affordable regardless of where you live.”
For more information regarding the real estate provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, contact me at slaunchbaugh@cbtulsa.com