Vikki Goodwin’s Austin Real Estate Weblog

As a member of the Austin Board of Realtors, and the National Association of Realtors, I would like to voice my dissenting opinion regarding the Senate’s latest bill for the Home Buyer Tax Credit.  While I believe in the American Dream of owning a home, I also believe in hard work and earning what you get.  This plan has many pitfalls and is unfair to the thousands of homeowners who had to save money and were not given this same handout.  The American way is to get people into employment that pays a living wage allowing them to save and buy a home when it is time.  Put money into job creation, not handouts!

This Senate bill has increased the tax credit from $7,500 to $15,000 (or 10% of the home price, whichever is less).  How many low to middle income people owe $15,000 on their taxes?!  Another of the new provisions, no maximum income requirement, means that higher income people will be able to take advantage of this.  Will this help home sales –yes.  Does this upset the average middle income hard working self-employed individual?  You bet! 

The Senate bill also changes the requirement allowing any buyer to qualify, instead of just first time home buyers.  Someone who currently owns a home doesn’t need this handout.  If they take advantage of the tax credit and buy a home, they then will need to sell their existing home, meaning we aren’t reducing the inventory of homes on the market; unless they hold on to their existing home and rent it out, which means we are giving them a handout in order to invest!  Again, this stipulation is opening the tax credit up to previous homeowners who should have the resources to buy a home again without a handout.  If they lost a home, are we now ready to give them the means to buy another?

On top of everything, the Senate bill does not require repayment.  We don’t need handouts to get our economy back on track, we need jobs and a more equalized pay structure.  Bankers and Wall Street executives who make millions off mortgages and investment packages that are sliced and diced pieces of thin air need to see their pay cut.  Teachers, nurses and many other service providers and professionals need to see their pay increase. 

What’s happening in the housing market is that bubbles are getting burst.  The market needs to equalize – not everyone can afford the $750K homes on the market.  And I can’t afford to see my taxes go up so others can use that money to buy a home.