News

Bad news about the mortgage crisis -- including falling home sales and rising foreclosures -- tends to overwhelm good news that comes along, one real estate industry official says.

That includes a $7,500 interest-free loan for first-time homebuyers that was included in the housing stimulus package passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush this summer. The benefit works as a tax credit in the year of a home purchase, but is to be paid back over 15 years.

"I'll bet a lot of people still don't know about it," said George Hackett, president of Coldwell Banker Real Estate in Pittsburgh and West Penn Multi-List, the region's major home-listing service.

With as many as 20 percent of homebuyers in this market being of the first-time variety, it seems a lot more people should be using it, or at least thinking about it, Hackett said.

He's been encouraging real estate agents to tell homebuyers about it.

"If, when I was first going out to buy a house, somebody was giving me $7,500 in an interest-free loan, that would have been very good," Hackett said.

The benefit works like this:

For an first-time buyer purchasing a home for $75,000 in 2008, the buyer would be eligible for a $7,500 credit on his or her income tax return. The credit actually is 10 percent of the cost of the home; $7,500 is the maximum.

The buyer must repay the amount over the next 15 years in increments of 6.7 percent of the tax credit. That amounts to $500 a year for a $7,500 credit. If the home is sold before then, the homebuyer must pay the remaining liability at closing.

The credit is effective on purchases made between April 9 of this year and July 1 next year. That means buyers who have closed on their homes dating back to April 9 still can claim the credit.

But there is an income limit, with full credit available for individual buyers with an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less, and $150,000 or less for taxpayers filing jointly.

First-time buyers are described as any individual (and if married, the spouse) who has had no ownership interest in a principal residence during the last three years.

"This is a win-win for the first-time buyers and the housing market," said Mark Steele, president of Howard Hanna Financial Services. "The problem with the message getting out is that when we get a glimmer of something positive happening, we get pounded with a lot of bad things, such as with the problems with mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac."

The government's recent decision to take over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ultimately will have a positive impact on the housing market, but their troubles have been drawing much of the public's attention, Steele said.

Real estate notes:

• Gauri Shankar LP will seek Pittsburgh Zoning Board approval Thursday for a community center at 1803 Concordia St., containing a daycare, business startup space, training classes and rooftop communications tower. The board also will be asked to approve a first-floor office containing 1,100 square feet at 5872 Northumberland St., Squirrel Hill.

• An exhibition, "Your Town Inc.," is on display at Carnegie Mellon University's Miller Gallery in Oakland until Nov. 23. It explores how towns and cities are impacted by multinational corporations' architectural practices, focusing on the effect of super stores that are abandoned. The information is based on Julia Christensen's book "Big Box Reuse."

• GSF Mortgage Corp. has opened an office at 1121 Boyce Rd., Upper St. Clair; Patrick McLuckie is the regional vice president.

• Phoenix Rehabilitation and Health Services Inc. has relocated its Mt. Lebanon clinic from 1100 Bower Hill Road to the former Sparkle Market store in The Shoppes on Bower Hill, 1082 Bower Hill Road, Mt. Lebanon.

• The Oakland Business Improvement District said AJ's Burgers and Peruvian Chicken will open at 3604 Fifth Ave., and Pizza Sola will open at 114 Atwood St. Recently, All Wireless Mart opened at 3710 Forbes Ave. and Underground Printing opened on Fifth Avenue at the corner of Meyran Avenue.

Transactions:

• University of Pittsburgh Medical Center purchased a three-story, 35,000-square-foot office building at 2735 Mosside Blvd., Monroeville, for $3 million, according to a deed filed in Allegheny County. The seller was DeMarco Durzo Development Co. LP.

• A one-story, 18,323-square-foot office/warehouse in the RIDC Industrial Park, O'Hara, was purchased by Practical Administrative Solutions LP for $1.7 million from Fox Park Partners LP. The building is on 3.5 acres at 105 Gamma Dr.

Real estate gallery:

• Coldwell Banker Real Estate Services sales associates Micheline Barkley and Mark Jennings, Cranberry; Cristina Borrero, Fox Chapel; Gloria Birckbichler, Butler; John Tanney, Route 19/Galleria; Nena Bakos, East Regional; Karla Tyson, North Huntingdon; and Liz Duffy, Shadyside.

• Ann Reale of Prudential Preferred Realty passed the Pennsylvania real estate broker's exam.

Contributors: Sam Spatter and Laura L. Lenk

• Most Read
• Most E-mailed
• Latest News