U.S. Homebuyers still in the Driver's Seat

CNBC

Prices were cut on nearly one quarter of U.S. homes on the market in May, the same as April, with a growing supply of unsold homes keeping buyers in the driver's seat, real estate web site Trulia.com said Wednesday.

Sellers lowered asking prices at least once on 22 percent of homes listed as of June 1, unchanged in the month and up from 20 percent two months ago, San Francisco-based Trulia said in a report provided to Reuters before official release.

A year ago, prices had been cut on 23.6 percent of listed properties. Sellers may face a setback after a brief spring sales spree driven by a rush for federal tax credits of up to $8,000.

To qualify, borrowers who may have purchased in the summer and fall raced to meet the April 30 deadline to sign contracts.

Spring sales could be "providing sellers with a false state of optimism," said Trulia Chief Executive Pete Flint.

"For the unforeseen future, buyers will continue to have the negotiating power and I expect we will see sellers get aggressive via price cuts throughout the summer," he said in a statement.

In the weeks since the tax incentive expired, applications to buy homes toppled to a 13-year low and home builder sentiment worsened.

Inventory levels are growing as sellers gain comfort that the spring season will pave the way for healthier summer sales, Trulia said.

Banks coping with record numbers of repossessed properties will add to the supply as they place the homes on the market, though most economists expect that pace will be measured.

Sellers slashed a total of $26.7 billion in May from asking prices, more than the $25 billion in April and $22.8 billion in March, according to Trulia.

The average discount on the reduced homes held at 10 percent from the original listing. More than a year of tax incentives put the U.S. housing market on a more solid footing.

However, a significant recovery is unattainable without a meaningful improvement in employment, economists agree.

Government data earlier this month showed private-sector hiring rose by 41,000 in May, far overshadowed by the 411,000 temporary census jobs.

Price cutting over the past year was the greatest in cities based in the Midwest and South.

Kansas City, Missouri led by list, with 31 percent of homes for sale cutting prices at least once, up from 20 percent a year earlier.

Other cities with the largest increase in share of homes that lowered prices were Arlington, Texas; Cleveland, Ohio; Louisville, Kentucky, Houston, Texas and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Western cities had the most improvement in the share of sellers slicing prices over the year.

These were among the cities that had gained the most during the housing boom and have already suffered the most in the crash.

Sellers dropped prices on just 10 percent of properties listed in Las Vegas in May, for example, compared with 30 percent a year earlier.

Six California cities were among the 10 cities showing the most improvement.

Price-cutting on luxury homes listed at $2 million or more was unchanged in May, with an average discount of 14 percent, Trulia said.

Homes in this category account for less than 2 percent of total inventory, but almost one-quarter of total dollars slashed from all homes for sale.

Homebuyer Tax-Credit Extension Fails as Catalyst

Bloomberg

President Barack Obama’s extension last month of a tax credit for first-time homebuyers failed to stir optimism among homebuilders or stock investors about the industry’s prospects.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index and a Standard & Poor’s index of homebuilding shares dropped after Obama signed the legislation on Nov. 6. The chart tracks these indicators since 2000.

Homebuyers received another five months, until April 30, to take advantage of the government’s $8,000 credit. They also became eligible for an additional $6,500 credit if they owned their previous residence for at least five years.

“The extension has not materially helped traffic or sales despite the program’s expansion,” Carl Reichardt, a Wells Fargo analyst, wrote yesterday in a report.

The NAHB/Wells Fargo index, an indicator of builders’ confidence, fell to 16 this month from 17 in November. None of the 47 economists in a Bloomberg News survey expected the decline. Readings below 50 show that most participants are pessimistic.

S&P’s industry gauge, consisting of builders in the S&P 500, MidCap 400 and SmallCap 600 indexes, dropped 8.4 percent from Nov. 6 to yesterday. S&P’s broadest index of U.S. stocks rose 4 percent during the period.

The shifts in sentiment and share prices were at odds with the growth in November housing starts and building permits that the Commerce Department reported today. Starts rose 8.9 percent to an annual rate of 574,000 homes. Permits climbed 6.9 percent to a 584,000 pace including such items as vacation homes in Atlantic Beach NC, the fastest since November 2008.

Still Time To Earn Tax Credits For Home Projects

Story from the Wall Street Journal

Looking to make home improvements to help keep energy costs down this winter? The federal government is offering some financial incentives in the form of tax credits.

The credits can be claimed on a homeowner's income taxes for 2009 or 2010, whatever year the improvements were purchased. With a credit, the amount comes off any taxes you owe. Also, the credit is nonrefundable, meaning it allows taxpayers to lower their tax liability to zero, but not below zero, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

It's a good time to be thinking about improvements, says Ronnie Kweller, spokeswoman for the Alliance to Save Energy.

Upgrade your insulation, windows, doors, roofing, heating and air-conditioning system or water heater, and you could qualify for a federal tax credit for 30% of the purchase price of the product -- up to a $1,500 maximum credit.

To qualify for the credit, you must place those purchases in service between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2010.

"The $1,500 cap applies to the aggregate amount of credits claimed in both years combined," says Robin Christian, senior tax analyst at the tax and accounting business of Thomson Reuters. "Also, only improvements made to your principal residence qualify -- vacation homes are not considered."

Details on which products qualify can be found on the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program Web site. Some stores also post information. For instance, at Home Depot's Web site, there's a link to a list of specific products that qualify. Click on "Tax Credit Eligibility."
No Cap on Bigger Items

For typically more-costly improvements -- including solar water heaters, solar panels, small wind-energy systems and geo-thermal heat pumps -- the credit is for 30% of the purchase price, with no cap, according to energystar.gov. Fuel cells also are covered, at 30% of the cost, up to $500 per 0.5 kilowatt of power capacity.

Credits for these improvements are available through 2016, but you must claim them for the tax year in which you made the purchase. And all but the fuel-cell equipment can be used for a vacation home as well.

One note: To qualify for the credits, all of the products must be used inside a home. That means equipment used to heat a pool or hot tub doesn't qualify, Ms. Christian says.

Also, the federal tax credits don't always cover the cost of installation. The installation costs for heating and cooling systems and some other higher-cost improvements qualify, according to the Energy Star site. But installation of windows, insulation, doors and roofs doesn't.

The tax-credit rules are different if you are building a new home. In this instance, you can qualify for the credit for some upgrades, including geo-thermal heat pumps, solar panels, solar water heaters, small wind-energy systems and fuel cells. But you won't get a tax credit for the purchase of windows, doors, insulation, roofs, heating and air-conditioning systems, and nonsolar water heaters, according to the Energy Star site.

Make sure any products you purchase come with a Manufacturer Certification Statement, a signed statement from the manufacturer that says the product qualifies for the tax credit. You will need that and any receipts when you claim the credit on your taxes.

Monica Rebella, a certified public accountant in Tustin, Calif., suggests making a copy of receipts since the print can wear off receipts over time.
Where to Start

When looking to make a home more energy efficient, consumers typically first turn to insulation and windows.

"If you need insulation, that is the most cost-effective upgrade you can make -- even without a tax credit," says Karen Schneider, Web-site manager for Energy Star. "If you have a 50-year-old home and never looked at the insulation, now is the time to do that."

Many insulation projects, such as upgrading or adding insulation in an attic, are easy for do-it-yourselfers, says Michael Chenard, director of environmental affairs for home-improvement store Lowe's. "Insulation is one of the easiest things to do that is covered by the tax-credit promotion," he says.

Replacing windows also can be done by amateurs, as long as the measurements are accurate, Mr. Chenard says.

The tax credit makes the cost of a more-efficient window competitive with a lower-grade window that doesn't qualify, says Art Donnelly, owner of Legacy Builders & Remodelers in Holbrook, N.Y. And because of the weak economy, companies' "backlogs aren't as long," he says. "So it's quicker to get things installed."