February 20th, 2009 10:15 AM

Contributed by Dana Scalici

It's over 1,000 pages long, no one can seem to tell us exactly what's in it and it was just passed days ago. So what does this stimulus mean for the real estate market?

It's been a buyers market for the past year and a half but there still seemed to be a cautious feeling in the marketplace. Home prices are way down…I remember reading in the Wallstreet Journal back in April that we had hit “bottom”. Those of us who are in the industry beg to differ. There is still a lot of inventory and prices are still coming down.

People are always asking if NOW is a good time to buy and to that I give a resounding YES! Because there is inventory (Supply) and buyers have been scarce (Demand) you can get some great deals out there and now if you're in the market for your 1^st home the government has made you an offer you can't refuse.

Last July, a First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit was established in the amount of 10% of the purchase price or $7,500 (lesser of the two)…now the maximum has been raised to $8,000.

There are some other changes also that make buying in 2009 a pretty sweet deal. For one the credit has been extended from July 1, 2009 to December 1, 2009, PLUS there is no repayment for purchases made after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009 as long as you keep the place for at least 3 years.

What types of properties are eligible? It can be any single family dwelling, this includes condos, co-ops and townhouses. It has to be your principal residence…meaning you must plan to live in it.

There are some income limits. The full amount of the credit is available if you have an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less (if you file a joint return, its $150,000) above those income levels the credit will start to phase out and completely caps at $95,000 ($170,000 Joint).

So is it really just for first time buyers? I will say kind of…the purchaser and/or their spouse may not have owned a principal residence for 3 years previous to purchase to be eligible for this credit.

This inducement not to mention some great prices and buyer's incentives from sellers and builders along with low interest rates may just make now the best time to buy EVER.

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