Mortgage Interest Deduction on Chopping Block

Mortgage Interest and Property Tax Deductions
on Chopping Block!

The shift from taxable income to adjusted gross income (AGI) is gaining ground in Vermont's House Ways and Means Committee. Last week, the Miscellaneous Tax Bill (H.436) included language calling for the shift from taxable income to AGI. The Vermont Association of Realtors® responded to the association's Call to Action earlier this week to contact legislators and urge them to remove any language that would eliminate the mortgage interest deduction and property tax reductions.

THE FIGHT IS NOT OVER. The House Ways and Means Committee is discussing H.243, which includes the elimination of itemized deductions from Vermont tax returns. This would include the elimination of the mortgage interest deduction and property tax deductions. We need YOU to get involved at a grassroots level. Here is what you can do to help:

Talk to friends and family about the importance of the Mortgage Interest Deduction and Property Tax Deduction.

Call, write or email your local legislative representative to let them know if you are not in support of this bill. Here are some talking points you can use when you do.

REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-Japan Crisis Causes Drop in U.S. Mortgage Rates

With mortgage rates still historically low and rents rising rapidly this is such a great time to buy a house, it will not get better. In fact we believe that people who sat on the fence last fall waiting for further drops in the Addison County and Chittenden County markets will never see those prices again!
REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-Japan Crisis Causes Drop in U.S. Mortgage Rates

Top Ten Real Estate Markets to Watch

So Vermont makes the national real estate news again. In the latest Inman News (a dedicated real estate news site) Burlington and South Burlington make the list at number seven top real estate markets to watch. A few figures to concentrate on. Median sales price was $270,600 compared to $202,000 in the rest of the state. Days on market for this area were 126 compared to 161 for the rest of the state.

Want to learn more - visit this link.

Does this news impact the rest of the state? Yes, especially those regions directly surrounding Burlington. The inventory of good houses under $300K is in demand and buyers are looking to outlying regions. Also, Vermont's real estate has held its own better than most parts of the country. But that doesn't mean we are back at 2007 prices. Although we are not as far off as other states.

Stay tuned!

End of the 30-year mortgage?

If talks of doing away with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are enacted upon then the conventional 30-year mortgage may well have to re-invent itself. They provide almost 90% of the secondary mortgage market which is too large to ignore. So the question is….how will the private sector lenders react?

The next 18 months could see substantial changes to the way American's finance their homes. With interest rates still at historical lows and conventional 30-year mortgages still being guaranteed this is the time to buy a house if you have the desire, credit and stability.