Slower sales forecast for 2006

Home sales will probably be lower than originally projected this year, according to a new forecast from NAR, as the market works its way through increasing inventory and high prices. Existing home sales are projected to fall 7.6% to 6.54 million in 2006, which would still make it the third-highest year on record after 2004 and 2005. Home prices are expected to rise 2.8% nationally. "This year sales are slowing, homes are plentiful and sellers are negotiating. Under these conditions, well probably see prices dip temporarily below year-ago levels as the market works through a build up in housing inventory, explained NAR Chief Economist David Lereah.

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What Can A Real Estate Tax Deduction Do For You?

Owning a property can help you benefit from the property tax deduction. This can actually be broken down in to several separate advantages. This tax deduction is actually a general deduction encompassing many. Some of the areas that advantages can be taken in that are included in the deduction are listed below.

One area that is included in this tax deduction is any interest paid on your mortgage. This is because the interest you collect on your house is also deductible up to a maximum of $1 million.

Another part of this deduction is what is called fee points, which are points that are associated with a home acquisition mortgage. Because each one is worth 1% this can really add up when it comes to taking advantage of this portion of the deduction.

Something else that is part of this deduction is equity loan interest. This interest that is the amount that you would pay on a home equity loan is only partly deductible, not fully. This part of it has a few regulations that must be followed according to the Internal Revenue Service.

A few other things that can be included in applying for the tax deduction includes home improvement loan interest and the home office deduction. With the home improvement interest you cannot include anything considered a repair. But with the home office deduction you can include any part of your home used for business, and can include repairs.

One thing that is a fairly big part of the deduction is the selling costs. These can include the real estate broker's commissions, title insurance, legal fees, advertising costs, administrative costs, and inspection fees. By taking advantage of this part of the property deduction you can lower your taxable capital gains.

This leads us to the capital gains exclusion that is part of the property tax deduction. If you have lived at your residence for at least two of the last five years then you are excluded from having to pay a capital gains tax. Married who file jointly have a limit of $500,000, while single or married filing single have a limit of $250,000 in the amount than keep in profits from any sale.

A small side note regarding moving and this deduction, is that if you relocate due to your job, you can include deductions related to the cost of this move. This deduction though is not quite as easy to take advantage of because of some of the IRS regulations regarding it.

The fact also that your property tax deduction is completely deductible from your federal income taxes among these other benefits, definitely makes it worth looking into.

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Check out http://www.easy-tax-deductions.com/ for more articles on donation tax deductions and home office tax deduction.

Selling a house is a very serious matter.

Latest home sales numbers have ups and downs

In case you missed them, several new reports on the nation's housing market were released last week. NAR's existing home sales report showed a slight dip in August sales compared to the previous month, down 0.5 percent. The median home price also declined 1.7 percent to $225,000. After a stronger-than-expected drop in July, the fairly even sales numbers in August tell us the market is at a more sustainable pace, NAR Chief Economist David Lereah said. It keeps us on track to see the third highest sales year on record, but we do expect an adjustment in home prices to last several months as we work through a build up in the inventory of homes on the market.

More signs of a slowing market

The housing market continued to cool off in recent weeks, with May existing home sales decreasing a slight 1.2 percent from April. "There's now a clear pattern of slower home-sales activity in many higher cost markets, which are more sensitive to rises in interest rates, and higher home sales in moderately priced areas which have experienced job growth," said NAR chief economist David Lereah. In areas hit hardest by the slowdown, sellers are having to readjust their expections as homes are taking longer to sell and local inventories build up, making price reductions and incentives a more common sight. And with interest rates on the way up, "things are likely to get worse for sellers before they get better," predicts Bloomberg News.

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