First-time homebuyers now have $8K tax credit available 3/17/2009 10:17 PM
By APRIL BAILEY Staff writer
First-time home buyers who purchase a home this year need to be made aware of a $8,000 tax credit available to them in the recently approved stimulus package, Nick Kremydas, CEO of the South Carolina Association of Realtors, said Tuesday.
Kremydas addressed local Realtors during the Aiken Board of Realtors luncheon at Houndslake.
"We've got to get the word out to the public that this credit is available," he said. "If it moves just one buyer in your business in the next couple of months, then it's worth it."
Kremydas said the credit does not have to be repaid. Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit, according to information provided by the National Association of Home Builders.
It is available only to first-time buyers who purchase homes from the first of January to the end of December of this year.
"We have to use the aid in that package to the best of our ability to help the people in our state," Kremydas told Realtors.
He also talked to the group about the association's efforts to modify property-tax assessment regulations, the point-of-sale assessment in particular.
"There are inequities all across the board," said Kremydas of the law which requires property to be assessed at the home's sale price the day it was sold.
He urged Realtors to talk with local elected officials about the issue and how it is affecting their business.
"We're creating a long-term disincentive to transfer property," he said.
The South Carolina Association of Realtors CEO said the state needs property tax reform.
"We need to look at the entire tax code and reexamine it from top to bottom," he said.
Kristyne Blake, an association executive with the Aiken Board of Realtors said the Board asked Kremydas to visit Aiken to speak to local Realtors because the information he shared is so important to Realtors right now, said Blake.
Though the housing market has recently taken a hit, Blake said she has been hearing from Aiken Realtors that things are picking up.
"I think things are definitely moving; home prices are remaining steady and that's good news," she said.
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