Columbia SC housing, 
trying to get back on its feet from one of the worse economic downturns since The Great Depression, could go over the “fiscal cliff” as well if Congress doesn’t come up with a solution before December 31st.
If this so-called “fiscal cliff” does happen, we can all wave goodbye to short sales that have helped the Columbia SC housing market get back on its feet. At risk is a provision that erases taxes on selling a home for less than what’s owed to the bank.
How the “Cliff” Affects Columbia SC Housing
Expiration of the tax treatment would create a major new headache for the one in four homeowners who owe more than their house is worth. Those “underwater” sellers would have to come up with a big check for Uncle Sam to pay the tax on the difference, and that would be a big blow to the Columbia SC housing recovery.
Lenders have turned to short sales as a faster way of getting bad loans off their books. After a surge in foreclosures brought widespread complaints that lenders weren’t fully reviewing documents, many states passed legislation that made it harder for lenders to seize homes.
Until the housing collapse, forgiven mortgage debt was taxed as ordinary income. Under those rules, a typical household would owe about $19,000 tax on the average settlement relief so far.
But in 2007, as the housing boom turned to bust, Congress passed the Mortgage Debt Relief Act, which shielded such forgiven debt from taxes. The law was extended in 2010 but is due to expire at the end of the year unless Congress acts to steer us all away from the fiscal cliff.
So what exactly is this fiscal cliff anyway? AP’s Donna Cassasta explains…
Here’s Business Insider’s “Ultimate Guide to the Fiscal Cliff – What it is, And What it Could Do to the Economy”
We urge you to write or call your Congressman or Congresswoman emphasizing to him or her how important you feel a solution is to this “fiscal cliff.” The continuing improvement in the Columbia SC housing market could be at stake.
The Willis Report on Fox Business covers RealtyTrac’s Election 2012 Housing Health Check, which shows that 65 percent of counties nationwide have a housing market in 2012 that is worse off than it was in 2008 before the last presidential election.
Anchor Gerri Willis talks to RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist about some of the findings, including some specific counties where housing is better off than four years ago.
Some housing markets are doing better. We continue to keep a finger on the pulse of the Columbia SC housing market and will keep you posted here on the positives and negatives as we head toward the holidays.
Columbia SC home prices were up in September, while prices nationwide were up 5 percent year-over-year and home sales posted a 4 percent annual increase.
According to Redfin’s analysis of activity across many major U.S. markets, these increases come even as housing metrics began their typical seasonal declines.
Redfin CEO Gelnn Kelman points out that “September is usually the month that real estate goes on sale, like Christmas toys in January. Whatever didn’t sell in the summer gets marked down for a September closing. This September however, we saw only a modest decline in prices, with inventory still dropping and demand fairly steady.”
Homes on the market continue to sell quickly, according to Redfin. The company’s study shows the percentage of listings that sold within 14 days of their debut held at 27 percent in September.
Redfin says price declines in some areas have been as low as 0.8 percent, a smaller decline than is customary at this time of year. Over the same period, home sales dropped in some areas by around 17 percent — a figure the company says represents “a typical seasonal decline.”
Redfin’s real-time tracker provides monthly data on home prices, sales, and inventory, based on the local databases used directly by real estate agents to list properties and record sales. Redfin has access to dozens of Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) used by agents, which means the company gets its data within minutes of a sale, pending sale, or listing activation.
To get the very latest on Columbia SC home prices, search for homes on our website, or give us a call if you need a custom search performed for your particular needs and situation.
As foreclosures have taken a sudden nose dive, it appears that bidding wars have begun to break out among Columbia SC home buyers, as well as home buyers in markets all over America.
It would seem that the long awaited “bottom” in the Columbia SC real estate market has already passed, meaning, if you were waiting, you’ve waited too long.
Don’t let prices continue to go up and inventory continue to go down. Smart Columbia SC home buyers are looking for that perfect home now. Give us a call for more information, or search for homes at our site and let us know when you’re ready to start looking at properties.
Columbia SC real estate, as well as real estate all across the country, seem to definitely be affected by Presidential elections.
A recent poll by Harris Interactive on behalf of MortgageMarvel.com asked consumers if the presidential election would cause them to delay home purchases if they were in the market for a new home. A full 25 percent of Americans surveyed would prefer to know who our next president will be before putting a down payment on a house.
While it’s disheartening to think that a full one-quarter of Americans surveyed would avoid buying a home until we have a new president in office, it’s not all bad news. More than half of the respondents — 53 percent — said the uncertainty surrounding the election would not affect their home buying decisions at all. Seventeen percent of respondents said they were unsure how the election would affect their decision and only four percent said the election uncertainty would prompt them to make a home purchase before the presidential race was over.
What about you? Does the upcoming Presidential election have any effect for you buying Columbia SC real estate? We’d love to hear your feelings about this.