Proposed Tax Credit 2009 Stimulus Package

November 20, 2008

Stimulus News: Currently the Stimulus package is considering a proposed $15,000 tax credit, which applies to all home purchases -- not just new homes and not just first time buyers. It is sponsored by Senator Johnny Isakson, Republican of Georgia, a former real estate broker. He said it was modeled after a similar, $2,000 homebuyer incentive that helped lead the country out of recession in 1975. The tax credit would give buyers 10 percent of the price of a primary residence bought within one year, up to $15,000, and is intended to stabilize plummeting home prices. The amendment would allow taxpayers to claim the credit on their 2008 income tax return and to spread the tax credit over two years. It also seeks to prevent misuse by only allowing purchases of a principle residence and by recapturing the credit if the home is sold within two years of purchase.

The U.S. Senate on Friday also approved an amendment to an economic stimulus bill that would direct $50 billion in funds from the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program to foreclosure mitigation efforts. This program is estimated to prevent approximately 2 million foreclosures. The amendment also forces changes in the federal government's $300 billion Hope for Homeowners program to increase participation. Under the amendment, homeowners would have to share 25% of future equity in their home, rather than the current 50% requirement.

In other news:
The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday its index of pending home sales, which measures contracts signed but not closed, rose 6.3% to 87.7 in December from a month earlier.

Moody's Economy.com cites signs that home sales are stabilizing as people snap up bargains on foreclosures, a decline in the supply of unsold homes in many areas and expectations of moves by the Obama Administration "that will help place a floor under the housing downturn." Those measures could include lowering mortgage rates further, preventing more foreclosures and generating jobs through higher federal spending.

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Local Information for Shreveport, LA

Latitude: 32.468003 -- Longitude: -93.771115

Other Area Cities: Shreveport Bossier City

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Shreveport, Louisiana, is the third largest city and the third largest metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the seat of Caddo Parish. As of 2004, the city's population given by the U.S. Census Bureau was 198,675, a decline from the 2000 census levels. Bossier City lies across the Red River in Bossier Parish and the Shreveport-Bossier City Metropolitan Area population exceeds 375,000. Shreveport is the commercial and cultural center of the Ark-La-Tex, the area where Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas meet. Some call it the "Gateway to East Texas;" others claim that Shreveport sits on the border between the South and the West. The city exercises a great pull over this region. A good example of this is that people in East Texas watch and donate money to the Louisiana Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) because no PBS station exists in northeast Texas. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Louisiana 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Shreveport	Louisiana	United States
Population	200,145	4,468,976	281,421,906
Median age	34.3	34	35.3
Median age for Male	31.9	32.6	34
Median age for Female	36.4	35.3	36.5
Households	78,662	1,656,053	105,480,101
Household population	194,754	4,333,011	273,643,273
Average household size	2.48	2.62	2.59
Families	50,442	1,156,438	71,787,347
Average family size	3.12	3.16	3.14
Housing units	86,802	1,847,181	115,904,641
Occupied units	78,662	1,656,053	105,480,101
Vacant units	8,140	191,128	10,424,540

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