Real Esate Blog

President Obama just signed the stimulus package and we can look at some of the provisions concerning homeowners.

1. It raises the first home buyer tax credit from $7500 to $8000 and removes the payback provision if you stay in the home for 3 years.

2. Reinstates the higher conforming loan limits that were temporary.

3. Provides funds for states to do foreclosure mitigation in hard hit areas.

4. Provides some rental assistance for families during this crisis.

5. Increases funding for rural housing development.

6. Exempts interest income from housing bonds from the AMT.

7. Provides grants for retrofit of energy efficiency upgrades to federally assisted housing. (Section 8)

8. Provides additional $200-300 billion for Fannie/Freddie to purchase mortgages and hold down interest rates on mortgages.

All of this coupled with the additional housing bill will help stabilize the housing market, good news indeed!