San Diego Real Estate - San Diego Homes Sale

Time is running out to take advantage of the $10,000 home buyer tax credits in California. There are two California tax credit programs.  One is for "first-time" buyers or buyers who haven't owned for a while, who are buying resale homes.  Funds for this program are almost gone.  The second is for buyers of "new homes", and just about half the new homes tax credit funds are still available.  Homes sale San Diego has not seen significant changes in buying behavior due to the California tax credit.

Starting May 1, 2010 the California state legislature offered a state tax credit of $10,000 to any home buyers who have not owned a home for the past three years, and who will promise to stay in the home for at least two years.  The legislature  allocated $100 million to that "first-time homebuyer" program, given on a first-come-first-served basis. That fund is down to its last few million.  A similar credit was offered a couple of years ago, and the tax credit funds were gone in eight weeks.  Looks like it will take a few less days this time around.

The new homes tax credit was also allocated $100 million, and so far there have been about 6,500 applications totalling just under $43 million.  At that rate the funds for new homes buyers will last through the summer.  There is no restriction on who may use these funds (first-time buyers or buyers who presently own but are moving).  But sales contracts for the new home must be signed between May 1 and December 31, and the new home purchase must close escrow by August 1, 2011.

Successful applicants for the tax credit will receive the $10,000 tax credit in three equal installments of $3,333 over the next three years of tax returns.  While a few thousand dollars is nothing to sneeze at, San Diego real estate experts predict very little impact on the market when the credits are depleted.  The median sale price of a house in San Diego is now around $360,000, up from $325,000 a year ago.