Jeff Craig Broker, Realtor, CSP

Home resales rose far more than expected last month to the highest level in more than two years as buyers scrambled to complete their purchases before a tax credit for first-time owners expires.

The National Association of Realtors says sales rose 9.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million in September, from a downwardly revised pace of 5.1 million in August. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 5.35 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

The median sales price was $174,900, down 8.5 percent from a year earlier, but the smallest annual drop in 13 months.

The following is from a local article about a rash of recent home burglaries. The information applies to anyone in any area.

Burglary boils down to opportunity. Why is one house or neighborhood a target for criminals while others are left alone and unscathed? It's a million dollar question that police say they simply don't have an answer to.

But no matter where you live, police say crime is bound to happen - and the best defense is to prepare for the worst and make your home less of a target.

"It all boils down to opportunity," said Sgt. E.S. Allen, with the police department's eastern division community resource team.

"Because we have a lot of daytime burglaries, I think it's a matter of knowing ... the most opportune time when people are gone to work."

Flat-screen TVs are a hot item for thieves, in addition to jewelry, computers and video gaming systems.

"Sometimes, it depends on how much time the suspect has in the home if they are going to rummage through drawers, go through closets and find something extra," Allen said. "Most of the time they are in and they are out."

Most may be someone looking to make a quick buck by selling someone's valuables or a seasoned thief who might be part of a larger enterprise.

"There is no particular set that you can say that one is more prevalent than another in the rash we are seeing citywide," Allen said. "It's likely an assortment of both."

Much of the time with home burglaries, police say the person is unemployed and has a criminal background that includes previous breaking and entering charges.

Many officers say that if a thief is determined to get into your home, he will, but the harder you can make it the less you are likely to be a target.

"There are three things you want to do to target-harden your home - you want to deny, deter and delay the intruders," said Sgt. Bud Blaylock. "If you can deny them entry, you've won."

To deny or delay entry, Blaylock said, residents should strengthen points of entry into a home by using deadbolt locks and using longer screws on the strike plate on doors.

Both precautions make a door harder to kick in.

Deterring criminals can be as simple as knowing your neighbors and looking out for one another, having an audible burglary alarm, installing better lighting and trimming back vegetation or eliminating places someone could hide.

"No one is immune," Allen said.

"To say why one particular neighborhood is being hit - you can't really put your finger on it. It's a crime of opportunity more than anything

This is from a blog by the President of Piedmont Personal Builders, Regis Skeehan.

According to a blog published by Atlanta Journal-Constitution writer, Jim Galloway, Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia) is giving up on the idea of increasing the Home Buyer Tax Credit to $15,000.

In return, he and his co-sponsor, Senator Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut) have reached a compromise, whereby Dodd is supporting expanding the tax credit by dropping the first-time home buyer restriction and increasing income limits to $150,000 for an individual and $300,000 for a family. The extension is proposed to run through June 30, 2010.

A link to the blog appears below: http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2009/10/20/johnny-isakson-strikes-a-compromise-on-tax-credit-for-home-buyers/

We favor increasing the tax credit to $15,000 because it will have more impact on the move up home buyer. As it is written, a home buyer can get a credit equal to 10% of the home price, up to a maximum of $8,000. This means that they could get an $8,000 tax credit on an $80,000 home, which is 10% of the purchase price.

The tax credit would also be $8,000 on a $400,000 home. but on the larger home, the credit only amounts to 2% of the purchase price. Is this enough of an incentive to get someone to jump?

We also think that the costs of the programs are overstated because, as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has pointed out, the multiplier effects are so large that extending the program actually brings in a lot more state and federal tax revenues, enough to pay for about 75% of the cost!

Also, we are very concerned with the June 30th termination date. That is only a 7-month extension. Since it typically takes 8-to-9 months from date of contract to date of completion to build a new, custom home, this means that the tax credit would almost completely exclude presale custom homes built for a specific customer, applying only to existing homes and completed builder spec homes almost by default.

While this does give some limited benefit to some limited group of people, it is far from a slam dunk for housing recovery, economic recovery, and job recovery. This is not only unfair to home buyers, but also to home builders.

In summary, we think the tax law should encourage building new presold custom homes because that is where all the job creation is.

This was posted today by Fox News. At least it's on the front burner now.

U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia is sponsoring a bill that would extend the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. The credit is set to expire soon, unless Congress and the White House can save it.

At a Senate Banking Committee hearing Tuesday homebuilders, mortgage bankers, realtors and other supporters said the extension is critical to continuing the effort to bolster home sales and to stabilize the housing market.

Supporters of the extension said the credit, which expires at the end of November, has helped sell more than 350,000 extra homes so far this year.

"If we don't do the housing tax credit, in my personal opinion, and extend it through mid-year next year and take away the first time home buyer means test and raise the income qualification, we will have a dramatic and awful situation in the United States of America from which recovery is going to be even more difficult than we've experienced already," said Sen. Isakson.

Under legislation proposed by Sen. Isakson, the tax credit would remain at $8,000 but it would be extended to all homebuyers, not just first time homebuyers.

Isakson's bill would allow the credit for home sales closed by June 30 of 2010.

The bill would also limit the credit to individuals who make less than $150,000 a year and to couples who make less $300,000 a year

The Congressional Budget Office said the proposal would cost $16.7 billion. The chairman of the banking committee, Senator Christopher Dodd, said he expects the Senate will vote to extend the credit in the next few days.

Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan said the Obama administration is reviewing the proposal and will announce which version of the credit it can support within the next few weeks.

26th Annual Barbecue Festival

Starts: 10/24/2009 Ends: 10/24/2009

City: Lexington, NC
Produced by: The Barbecue Festival, Inc.

Phone: 336-956-1880
Email: info@barbecuefestival.com
Website: http://www.barbecuefestival.com

Don't miss one of the largest one-day festivals on NC!

Crafts, Children's area, music and the best barbecue you ever tasted!