San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis

And voted for by Democrats and Republicans alike.

Haven't you figured out yet that neither party has a clue?

Few will be able to use it. Between the income limits and much tighter credit & down payment requirements, there just won't be very many 1st time buyers out there who qualify.

Also (if anyone knows), if one spouse is a first time buyer and the other is not, can they still get some of the credit?

It was voted for by Democrats because they were hoping to convince that particular sole Republican to vote "yes" on the budget.

Neither party is particularly bright, but only the Republican could come up with the idea of a 100 million dollar tax cut (essentially a handout to homebuilders) at the time when the state is 41 billion dollars in the hole and its credit rating is lowest in the country.

It brings in buyers who normally wouldn't have been there at the expense of the taxpayer. Essentially, the builders won't need to lower their sell price by $10k because it is subsidized by the taxpayers.

There is no reason they should be insentising people to buy houses. The FIRE economy is not what we should be stimulating. They've been stimulated enough over the past decade and look where that has gotten us.. Are all these people taking crazy pills.?

I do not quite understand how it works. I do not think we pay more than 10K as state income tax or we may be paying somehow. Are they giving money back with check if I do not pay more than 10K? Could you enlighten me?

Arraya they are all sane, it is us who have been taking the crazy pills.

Any "assistance" to homeowners ultimately ends up helping the banks and new home builders sitting on inventory. I venture that's esmith's thinking.

However Obama's newly unveiled plan is even worse. Not in the amount, but in the implications.

Eventually the Gov't will realize these caused more harm than good by strapping homeowners to mortgages they still can't afford, preventing them from spending money anywhere else in this consumer economy.

It's not a Republican problem anymore than it's a Democrat problem, the media just chooses to demonize Republicans as the enemy, because apparently they like dulling society into complacency with handouts for stupidity and laziness.

Obama's plan and CA's plan are eqaully foolish.

i think the bill says only for new houses, lesser of 5% or 10k. it'd have to be 75k to interest me.

$10K over three years.

This topic piqued my curiosity. Here's a page with more info
http://www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/New_Ho...

Highlights that answer some of the questions already brought up:

# New homes only (never been occupied)
# Principal residence only (must live in home for 2 years following purchase)
# Credit is 5% of purchase price or $10,000 whichever is less
# Credit is applied over 3 years (max $3,333/year)
# The credit is not refundable (if you don't owe $3,333 in taxes, you don't get the difference back).

I believe 95% of home buyers or first time home buyers are not going to be qualified.

"Qualified buyer:
A taxpayer who purchases a single-family residence, whether detached or attached, that has never been occupied, that is purchased to be the principal residence of the taxpayer for a minimum of two years, and that is eligible for the homeowner’s exemption under California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 218."

I guess I'm one of the 5% that qualify for both federal and state tax credit programs:

- Have not owned a home for the past 3 years
- Family combined income of less than $150K
- Buying a new home (never been occupied)
- Will own only one home and plan to live there for at least 5-10 years.

However my lender informed me that neither program would provide immediate relief in terms of reducing closing costs or principle loan amount. If I have to wait until next year to benefit from the tax credit programs, that's too long.

True on the state credit. The Federal credit though is claimable immediately after closing. It won't help with closing costs or any other expenses incurred during escrow or immediately thereafter, but even if you bought in the middle of this year, you could file an amended return and get the 8K credit as soon as the IRS can process and refund it.

And, of course, in the state case, you can always increase your witholdings to see some of it back this year - if you bought a house, you probably would do this anyway since you'd be getting money back now from the mortgage interest deduction.

They are trying to bait all the people that were smart and rented over the past "bubble years" to join the rest of the crowd that jumped in so that we all look stupid together...more than what we already do....

Well, thats OK. I plan on renting for another 2 years and sitting back watching the return of the 1970's and the further fade of housing values....

Hey Bama and Timmy, I don't want your poison candy nor do I want you using my tax donations to pay for others bubble houses.....cut it out..before its too late....you are not the next Abraham Lincoln...trust me on that one...