One of the commonly asked questions by potential buyers is “should I buy a house now, or are the prices going to continue to drop”?
First, if we all had the magical crystal ball that answered whether further price reductions are coming it would solve alot of mystery (it would be nice to have one that states the condition of the stock market too..) I tell buyers that this is the optimum time to by property. With the prices and historically low interest rates, if you are a renter and have the resources to buy a home to not do so would just be a waste of money.
With the first time buyer tax credits available it now makes it an incredible time to buy a home. The California Association of Realtor has provided this chart (http://www.car.org/legal/2009-qa/homebuyer-tax-credit-chart/) that details the credits that are now available.
So far there have been 5,668 tax credit applications submitted to date, resulting in over one-half of the current $100 million tax credit already having been claimed. Assembly Bill 765 was recently introduced and, if passed, will provide an additional 20,000 taxpayers the opportunity to take advantage of the popular new home California State income tax credit of up to $10,000. AB 765 calls for increasing the existing $100 million California new home tax credit program cap to $300 million. If AB 765 becomes law, it estimates 30,000 new homebuyers would benefit from the program.
With the tax incentives available this is a wonderful time for first time home buyers.