The legislation also would extend the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit to contracts signed by April 30 and closed by June 30. The controversial credit, which many say has boosted home sales in recent months, was set to expire after Nov. 30.
The Senate's bill also created a $6,500 credit for those who buy a home after owning one for the last five years. That measure would apply to contracts signed by April 30 and closed by June 30. The current credit defines a first-time homebuyer as someone who has not owned a residence within the past three years.
The Senate bill would raise the adjusted gross income cap to $125,000 for single filers and $225,000 for joint filers. The amount of the credit currently begins to phase out for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is more than $75,000, or $150,000 for joint filers.
"It's gonna put people back to work, the home builders, put people in the real estate business," said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn. "The kind of jobs that can make a difference."
The extension will cost $10.8 billion over 10 years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.
Through mid-September, 1.4 million tax returns had qualified for the credit, according to the IRS. Some portion of those returns, which the IRS couldn't specify, represents buyers who took advantage of an earlier version of the tax credit, which was only worth $7,500 and has to be repaid over time.
By the end of November, the credit will have been used by 1.8 million homebuyers, at least 355,000 of whom would not have bought a house without the tax break, according to estimates by the National Association of Realtors.
"The data on the present home buyer tax credit show that the credit has had its intended impact -- sales have jumped in recent months to a projected 5.1 million for the year and housing inventory has been trimmed, thus stabilizing home prices noticeably," said Ron Phipps, the association's first vice president, in Senate testimony last month.
The credit, however, has also posed many problems. Critics say it's a waste of money because most of those claiming the credit would have bought homes anyway.
It's also been the target of fraud. Some 74,000 people claimed more than $500 million in credits even though they may not be first-time homeowners, according to Treasury officials. And more than 580 children, including some as young as 4-years-old, have claimed the credit.
"Some key controls were missing to prevent an individual from erroneously or fraudulently claiming the Credit and receiving an erroneous refund of up to $8,000," said J. Russell George, Treasury inspector general for tax administration, before a House subcommittee last month.
CNN Radio Capitol Hill correspondent Lisa Desjardins contributed to this report.
If you look at the latest Case-Shiller home price index numbers, which showed prices up in seventeen of the twenty markets it tracks and the fourth straight month of gains, you'd have to say: wow, how things have changed!
Even the gloomiest of the major indexes is now documenting month after month that housing not only bottomed out earlier this year, but is steadily racking up price gains.
But hold on, this week's numbers get better than that: According to the National Association of Realtors, resales of existing homes jumped sharply last month, up a very robust 9.4 percent during September.
Sales around the country were 9.2 percent higher than they were during September of 2008 -- pushed this year by first-time home purchasers looking to nail down contracts to qualify for the $8,000 tax credit that's scheduled to end in less than four weeks.
Still more good news: Inventories of unsold homes fell just about everywhere, averaging about an eight month supply in September, down from a 9 month supply in August. A six to seven month supply is considered a balanced market … so we're almost there.
Add in mortgage rates averaging 5 percent for a 30 year fixed mortgage and four and a half percent for a 15 year loan, and you can see why applications for new loans to purchase houses were up by nearly five percent last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's national survey.
And as icing on the cake -- GDP or gross domestic product -- the barometer measuring the nation's overall economic health -- grew by three and a half percent in the third quarter, thereby officially ending the "great recession" we've been suffering through for the past two years.
So absolutely, there's a lot of positive news out there this week.
But not all the news has been good. As we've said here at Realty Times before, the marketplace is complex -- and the arrows usually don't ALL point in one direction.
And that is certainly true this week: New home sales dropped unexpectedly by more than three and a half percent in September. And consumer confidence dropped for the second straight month, according to the Conference Board, mainly because of fears about continuing job losses.
Both of those are troubling developments, no question, and the unemployment situation is obviously a major drag on the economy and housing.
But, as the reports on prices, mortgage rates, GDP and existing home sales show -- there's plenty of action out there, and the housing recovery is well underway -- even if it sputters here and there.
K. Harney
Don't bet all your money on it quite yet, but it looks more and more likely that Congress will extend the housing tax credit beyond its scheduled termination date - and maybe even open it up to people who already own homes.
Late last week a bipartisan plan emerged in the Senate that would continue the $8,000 credit for first time purchasers beyond November 30, but would create a new, smaller credit of $6,500 for people who've owned and lived in their houses for five consecutive years and now want to buy another as their principal residence.
Under one version of the Senate plan, which reportedly has the support of top Democrats including Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid, the current $8,000 credit for first-timers would effectively be extended through next June 30.
However, buyers would need to have their contracts signed by April 30 and closed by July 1.
The credit program would also be opened up to a restricted segment of current home owners, those with at least five years in their current residences, but with the maximum tax credit amount capped at $6,500.
That would still be enough, sponsors of the plan believe, to encourage people now on the sidelines to get into the market for new and existing homes in early 2010 -- and thereby help stimulate the economy and create jobs.
The Senate plan would also raise household incomes limits for the credit to $125,000 for single buyers and $250,000 for married couples - far more generous than the current $75,000 and $150,000 maximums.
Extending the $8,000 credit, as it is now, has heavy bipartisan support on the House side as well. But key Democratic leaders there -- and at the Obama White House -- are concerned about the costs.
The current $8,000 credit costs the Treasury about a billion dollars a month in lost tax revenues, according to Congressional budget estimates. Opening up the program to existing home owners - even in a restricted way -- would add to that cost.
On the other hand, limiting any extension to six months would be less expensive than a full-year extension, as advocated by major housing lobbies, including the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders.
So the issue on Capitol Hill appears to boil down to this: It's not so much a question of whether to extend the credit. Absent a political train wreck, the credit should survive beyond November 30
But for how long, and for whom, are the questions still not nailed down?
We'll keep you up to date.
K. Harney
Don't bet all your money on it quite yet, but it looks more and more likely that Congress will extend the housing tax credit beyond its scheduled termination date - and maybe even open it up to people who already own homes.
Late last week a bipartisan plan emerged in the Senate that would continue the $8,000 credit for first time purchasers beyond November 30, but would create a new, smaller credit of $6,500 for people who've owned and lived in their houses for five consecutive years and now want to buy another as their principal residence.
Under one version of the Senate plan, which reportedly has the support of top Democrats including Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid, the current $8,000 credit for first-timers would effectively be extended through next June 30.
However, buyers would need to have their contracts signed by April 30 and closed by July 1.
The credit program would also be opened up to a restricted segment of current home owners, those with at least five years in their current residences, but with the maximum tax credit amount capped at $6,500.
That would still be enough, sponsors of the plan believe, to encourage people now on the sidelines to get into the market for new and existing homes in early 2010 -- and thereby help stimulate the economy and create jobs.
The Senate plan would also raise household incomes limits for the credit to $125,000 for single buyers and $250,000 for married couples - far more generous than the current $75,000 and $150,000 maximums.
Extending the $8,000 credit, as it is now, has heavy bipartisan support on the House side as well. But key Democratic leaders there -- and at the Obama White House -- are concerned about the costs.
The current $8,000 credit costs the Treasury about a billion dollars a month in lost tax revenues, according to Congressional budget estimates. Opening up the program to existing home owners - even in a restricted way -- would add to that cost.
On the other hand, limiting any extension to six months would be less expensive than a full-year extension, as advocated by major housing lobbies, including the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders.
So the issue on Capitol Hill appears to boil down to this: It's not so much a question of whether to extend the credit. Absent a political train wreck, the credit should survive beyond November 30
But for how long, and for whom, are the questions still not nailed down?
We'll keep you up to date.
K. Harney
I clicked a link to the Wall Street Journal's market data chart, called the Hagerty's Quarterly Housing Report and was really taken aback by what they are reporting in the Washington, D.C. area (my home base).
Again, they have labeled our market as a "buyers" market and reported that more foreclosures are on the way. The problem I have with both those statements is that
* they are created out of data provided by the real estate industry; and
* they are accurate, but not truly reflective.
The real estate industry is its worst enemy when it comes to reporting sales data to the media and, ergo, the public. The reporters call, asking for the latest sales information and that's exactly what we hand them, latest solds, the houses that actually settled in the last month.
Then the media take that report and extrapolate a trend (in their minds) of what's going to happen in the local markets. The problem is they are usually wrong. The Journal's report is a good example. While they are reporting that the Washington, D.C. market has a 6.4 months supply (considered a normal to buyer market) any agent working the Washington suburbs will tell you that is far from the truth. We are sitting on hardly any inventory and in many of our pocket markets, we have just a few days' supply, much less weeks.
Split it up by price range, and some communities have less than 7 days' supply. The houses come on and sell in a day at or above listing price. The challenge for the media (or something they refuse to really look at) is that when they go to these "local" MLS organizations that serve a particular metropolitan area, they just lump it all in the same bowl and come out with one large biscuit and label it Chicago; or Washington, DC; or Big City Name here.
If you know the geography of Washington DC, then you'll probably be a little confused when you find out what's included in our MLS: Parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia. If those areas are included, then, yes, the DC market has a 6.4 months' supply.
In Pennsylvania there's an absorption rate of 13.5 months currently. In W.Va., it's a 10.8 months' supply and in Delaware, those good people have a 12.7 months' supply.
Right around the Beltway, however, which is DC-proper, the absorption rate is at 2.8 months. (That would be only Active properties, divided by pending sales written in the last 30 days). A buyer can see all the homes in their price range in about 15 minutes because there just aren't enough houses on the market.
So when the consumers around Washington (or Miami, Chicago, New York, etc.) read about the months' supply on Hagerty's Quarterly Housing Report in the Wall Street Journal – what's an agent to do? Who's the buyer going to believe – the Wall Street Journal, or the agent driving them around trying to sell them a house and earn a commission.
I mean, hey, what would the agent know? They just look at me as a big fat commission check, right? The market is turning in many metropolitan areas around the country – DC is at the head of the curve and many will follow. (In fact, at this writing, foreclosures make up only 18 percent of Fairfax County – one of the larges suburban markets in the DC area – 82% are regular sales.) But before you swallow the charts from the Big Media about absorption rates, talk with the agent who's actually working the area.
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-Over $300 Millions in Career Sales -Over 350+ Career Closed Sales -#1 Agent North Shore Region; KWRP -Top 10 Mid-American Region; KWRI -Top 1/4 % of all Agents in Mid-American Region: KWRI
Welcome to the Best in Northern Cook and Lake County!
Specializing in Glenview, Northbrook, Morton Grove, Niles and all of Northern Cook and Lake County Illinois Real Estate....
Helen is "Your Best Move!"
In an effort to be the best and to provide the service she is noted for, Helen is proud to employ a full service team to assist you in your real estate transaction. With Helen as the President and Team Leader she oversees the team and handles all aspects of your transaction to ensure that your real estate transaction is seem-less and enjoyable. With this team into place you can rest assured that you are in the best of hands! We understand your needs and we tailor our services to extend above and beyond the call of duty! With our "It's my pleasure attitude" we guarantee that you will be thrilled with what we have to offer you!
After experiencing several careers, Helen has determined that her drive to be the best combined with tenacious persistence, and innate perception, make real estate her best career choice. Her intelligence, education, strong communication skills and her amazing ability to negotiate make her a power producer in the real estate industry. Helen has found her true calling as a real estate professional, where she has the ability to do what she does best...achieve excellent RESULTS for the clients she represents!!
Without reservation, Helen is a consistent leading professional and she has been awarded the Prestigious President's Elite Award for 2004, 2005, 2006; the second highest designation that Coldwell Banker offers for it's agents. For 2007, Helen has literally surpassed all of her prior accomplishments by again achieving President's Elite status and has closed over 60+ units, has actively listed over 200+ properties and counting and she is exceeding her volume and GCI goals by 78% from 2006. In 2008, Helen sold 90+ properties making it a record breaking career year in real estate. In 2009 Helen has already sold 81+ properties and anticipates another fantastic year. Helen is also In the Top 10 for the Mid-American Region of Keller Williams Realty International. She is a dynamic market leader specialzing in selling real estate. In a changing market Helen is even more successful and is sought after by clients who demand the best marketing and the best results. Her creative and magnetic personality make her a strong advocate in the ever-changing world of real estate. She is extremely perceptive, dynamic, thorough and precise and her advice is multi-dimensional.
With an innovative vision and an ability to plan for the future Helen's mission is to constantly raise the bar in the profession of real estate. She employs the highest and most advanced technological tools to make her marketing of residential properties unbeatable. She has a targeted business plan for each property, provides exemplary service to each client, and ensures a results oriented seamless transaction.
Helen's incredible gift of planning is immaculate and her execution is accurate. She is an expert at anticipating, reacting and handling situations appropriately and professionally. With Helen lies the confidence and assuredness that your number one vested interest is thoroughly protected at all times!
In a competitive market with an abundance of realtors, it is clear that Helen Oliveri does whatever it takes to produce RESULTS on behalf of her clientele'. She acts in their best interest and, in fact, puts their needs above all else. She does this with ultimate professionalism, first-class service and intense goal-oriented work ethic. Her results-driven program is productive and effective. Helen understands this business fully and completely, it's demands and it's challenges and thrives off of it. Helen is your ally in creating and maintaining a solid business transaction!
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Ph: 847.967.0022
E-fax: 847-574-7573
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Helen specializes in selling residential real estate including condos, town-homes and single family homes. She is an expert in resales, new construction and REO foreclosures. If you need a real estate professional who is dynamic, driven and customer centric, Helen is the agent with the team for you! When you work with Helen, consider it SOLD!!
Helen is very knowledgeable, very motivated, well organized and personable. Everyone on Helen’s team works well together and with the client to accomplish the objective – sell houses! Helen’s team gave me status reports and updates very frequently. I feel my home in Glenview was marketed excellent and the property sold so quickly. I rate my experience with Helen Oliveri and The Helen Oliveri Team just outstanding. At the end of the day, our house had been on the market for a year with a different agent and had not been sold. The house sold in 28 days after I listed it with Helen Oliveri and The Helen Oliveri Team and that is what it is all about.
Don & Linda Van Dyke
My experience with Helen Oliveri was excellent and she was very in tune with the market. She is a real professional. Helen's team was also excellent; the staff was constantly aware of what was going on with each individual deal. There was never any back and forth and everyone on the team was on the same page and the weekly calls and updates are great. Helen's marketing was tremendous! I have never seen anything like it. The brochures and CD's were great. My construction lender was at the property one day and was so impressed with the marketing materials. It gave me and her so much more credibility. My overall experience with Helen Oliveri and her team was just amazing. I have been building for 15 years and without a doubt she and her team is the best. Being in the business and realizing what the market conditions are, she was phenomenal. She has a true understanding of marketing and is not just going through the motions. She is highly self-motivated which makes me feel at ease as to not having to hound her or her team for answers. It truly feels like she is on my team. When dealing with Helen and her team you feel like she is only working for you. Danny and Alison are probably the best support staff I have ever encountered in the industry. I would recommend The Helen Oliveri Team to anyone with 100% confidence.
Kevin Walsh
Helen Oliveri and her team represent the highest professional level of expertise and customer service skills. Helen's knowledge of the current market helped us sell our house in a very short period of time, which is really amazing in today's difficult real estate environment. Being a real estate professional (as we own a title company) we can appreciate her expertise in the field. As our title company conducted the closing, we could first hand witness her professionalism. She not only knew the specific requirements of the market, but also handled the transaction with attention to detail to fulfill the needs of her clients. We will recommend Helen and her team to anyone looking for a qualified agent to sell their home.
Sincerely,
Agatha and John Piecha
National Title Center
We were so very pleased to have you as our selling agent and having your company represent us. You definitely exhibited the dedication warranted by your profession. You have a keen sense for knowing the right type of customer service required, advertising, presentations, customer base, financials, innovative approachs and market strategies. We were especially impressed by your personal touch and concern for our interest, market in-puts and follow-up, quick turnaround time, and knowledge of your field. Also, the extra care taken to keep an eye on our property and keeping the unit clean for us while we were out of town. You should be proud of what you do as you definitely stand out as a extremely highly qualified real estate agent, one who presents themselve as a top agent and expresses confidence in your profession. Your company should be very proud to have you represent them. You definitely get results. Once again, thank you for being our agent. We never felt you ever let us down and were always looking out for our best interest. Should you need us as a reference please don't hesitate to call.
Sincerely,
Elliot and Pat Bedrosian
Helen and The Helen Oliveri Team are simply the best real estate team I have ever known. I have built and sold many homes in my life and never EVER have I experienced such professionalism, market expertise and customer care as I have with Helen and her team. They were there always with a smile, handling literally every aspect of my sale without reservation. They even supervised my move, cleaned my home personally and even took care of all of my closing documents without question. Helen is always personally available and made me feel like her closest friend and confidant and she fought for me unlike anyone I know. I am so confident in Helen and her team and I would recommend them without hesitation. This has been a hard time for me and she was there both as my real estate professional and as my friend and her team is phenomenal. I will always use Helen Oliveri and her team for any and all future real estate transactions. Thank you for selling my home in such a tough market....Helen you are the BEST!!
Sincerely,
Jodi Westphal
I felt as though I had a trusted friend by my side each and every step of the way while buying my very first home. Helen is honest and genuine, an invaluable trait in a friend, so you can imagine how pleased I was to find it in an agent! She answered all of my questions and explained the things I didn't understand without making me feel silly or inferior. I feel confident that she treats all of her clients with the dignity and respect they deserve when buying or selling a home. When the time comes, I won't hesitate to entrust the sale of my home to Helen Oliveri. Working with her was truly a pleasure!
Sincerely,
Canella Mullins
We would whole heartedly nominate you for "Realtor of the Year". We are convinced that it was your superior skills as a realtor that enabled you to sell our townhouse so quickly in this extremely difficult market. Hiring you as our agent was really 'our best move'. Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
James & Lolita Cox
Thank you so much for all your help with my new condo! It has been a wonderful pleasure working with both of you. My new home is beautiful! Thank you also for the gift basket! The items will certainly come in handy and they were all on my shopping list! In addition, the closing was painless!
I will miss working with all of you. I certainly will recommend your team to friends and family every time the opportunity arises! You make a great team!
Sincerely,
Rosi Odulio
I asked if Julieann and I could write this letter because of the way the two of you saw us through a tough situation. The sale of our house was tricky at best. I had been in the house for 28 years, so I had no idea of the market or what to expect of the process. Your honesty and humor kept heads clear and things light.
Even with the purchase and closing of your own home, you returned every call within minutes so that we could ask questions and in most cases, got us the answers the same day. You told us what the marketing plan was going to be and you did everything you said you would.
I've been in sales most of my adult life and must say that I've never run into a team such as yourselves. The lines of responsibility were very clear between the two of you making it easy for Julieann and myself to feel reassured that you were ALWAYS on top of things.
We had made the mistake of first signing with another team.....their claims being much the same as yours. What we learned was claims are one thing, but living up to them is another thing altogether. That experience made us even more "gun shy" of your claims of service and attention.
You lived up to and went beyond every claim.
Your work ethics and attention to detail inspired us to ask if we could put this letter together.
I have never done one of these letters before, but I knew I would have been remiss if we didn't somehow try to offer the two of you the help that you gave us.
Thank you so much
Jerry & Juliann Wexler
Many thanks to you for being so terrific in selling our house. We've owned/sold seven homes in the past, and your knowledge and experience have surpassed all our expectations. No other realtor experience comes close.
We had our house up for sale six months with a limited service realtor, only to be constantly disappointed. You turned things around for us in six weeks! And for a selling price we were happy with.
Our only regret is that we didn't sign up with you in the first place. You people are serious - and it's so obvious that you love what you do.
Bottom line, we'll recommend you to anyone who wants to experience real professionalism and real action! You're the best Helen!
All of ours,
Ed & Gail Tossing
Thank you so much for all your help in selling our home. We have had a fantastic experience with you! We are still in shock that you sold our home before the sign was put in the yard!!
What a pleasure it has been to receive "play by play" communication. We felt secure & well-informed each step of the way. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Lovingly,
Steve & Misti Wiggins
We want to thank you for a job well done!
In deciding who would list the house, we were very impressed with your knowledge, professional presentation, but most of all, your enthusiasm.
We are Real Estate Brokers who relied on a broker familiar with the area and expected a high level of professionalism.
You exceeded every expectation.
We will recommend you at every opportunity.
Regards,
Earl & Margo Stafford
Karen Kudlinski
I really did not know Helen and her team too well, because Helen sold my house in a week! The first thing that Helen impressed me is her punctuality. Before I selected Helen as my realtor, I interviewed several others. A couple of them came late, though they called ahead. One of them was 30 minutes late and did not even bother to call me. Helen's follow-up is excellent. She kept me informed during the whole process and always returned my calls promptly. I would absolutely refer anyone to Helen for her real estate service.
Sincerely,
Benny Cheung
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