I haven't blogged on real estate, but I think it is an obvious investment (when the prices make sense) and now would be an optimal opportunity. I would suggest anyone who does not own a home and wants to should seriously start looking and buy this year. Obama is giving first-time homebuyers who purchase their homes before Dec. 1 an $8,000 tax credit. I expect home prices to go down another 20% in the next 6 months, so now would be a good time to start looking.
Couple things to consider.
- The treasury has been buying bonds in order to lower the interest rate
- If you're job in is trouble, it might not be a good idea to buy a house and then have to foreclose on it.
- Of course you also get to deduct the mortgage interest on your house.
- Look into Mortgage credit certificates in your county, you can save a lot of money by getting tax credits through the life of the loan.
2/28/09 -- Update, looks like the CA govt might be giving a 10K tax credit also!
Great post, real estate prices are down and people can by at a huge discount with reduced rates.
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