Reader comments
My view: Tax credits help homebuyers, economy

Anonymous | 4:33 a.m. Aug. 11, 2008

Yeah but if you wait another year then your house price will drop another $20,000.

Does the author of this article have some kind of ties to the real estate industry? It sure seems to be written by a realtor.

Buy now! Interest rates are low! Get in while you can!

The mantra of a realtor.

The truth is no one should get in to a house just to get a $7,500 rebate. Buy what you can afford and buy when you are ready. If people would have followed this in the first place, we wouldn't be in this mess.

Fairness | 6:20 a.m. Aug. 11, 2008

Alan Greenspan, when he was chairman of the Fed, said the United States should drop the tax credit on homes, that this was a burden on other areas of the economy.

Well Alan, this tax credit is a way for regular folks to be able to afford a house, it isn't all about the very rich, the rest of us deserve some of the bounty too.

Macro | 8:25 a.m. Aug. 11, 2008

Chris,

Thank you for having the vision to lead the business community in the right direction on this issue. Helping the construction/real estate industry in Utah is key to our larger economy. If we keep shedding jobs in thoses sectors, we will all be in trouble.

Let's work together to turn this thing around by taking advantage of this tax credit.

Comments continue below

Martha | 8:32 a.m. Aug. 11, 2008

This is sure good news for my family.

Anonymous | 8:56 a.m. Aug. 11, 2008

What Anonymous at the top doesn't get, is that a 1% increase in the interest rate will wipe out any change in the value of the home. In other words, if you wait to buy because you think that the price will fall by $20,000 and you'll get a better deal, if your rate goes up by 1%, it will be the same as buying now. This is an excellent message by the Chamber of Commerce...thanks for writing it.

Anonymous | 9:07 a.m. Aug. 11, 2008

Yes but if the interest rate falls or stays put and prices drop then you are in an even better position. Look at the last year and you'll obviously see my point.

I'm just saying don't let the lure of $7,500 lure you into getting into a home when you're not ready.

Real estate agents are always talking that way.

I fully understand the whole interest rate thing. That is why I locked in at 5.375% on my 30 year fixed mortgage when all the people around me were getting interest only loans with nothing down. They are now in foreclosure while we are sitting pretty good.

Only buy what you can afford.

NEVER I repeat NEVER listen to what the real estate industry tells you. They are in it for one thing, making money for themselves.

Thomas | 12:23 p.m. Aug. 11, 2008

The booster who wrote this article neglected to mention the inconvenient truth that the $7,500 first-time homebuyer "tax credit" is actually an interest-free loan. It has to be paid back.

Anyone who says "it's a great time to buy" when even the most conservative investment banks are declaring that the housing recession has at least another year to run is either mindless or a fraud.

Thomas | 12:38 p.m. Aug. 11, 2008

Keep in mind, Mr. 8:56 Anonymous, that interest rates change, but principal is forever.

You can buy at a high interest rate and a low principal, and refinance when the rate gets lower. But if prices fall, you can't arrange to have a lower principal.

Since home demand is a function of desire plus ability to pay, and ability to pay is a function of principal and interest rate, if interest rates do rise, as you suggest, loan principals will have to fall if the market is going to clear. In any event, your property taxes are based on principal, not mortgage payment, so it's better to have a low principal and a high interest rate (which gives you low property taxes) than a high principal and a low interest rate, and high property taxes.

whocares | 8:00 p.m. Aug. 11, 2008

Well Said Thomas. Funny how the writer of the article neglects to mention the numerous catches to the tax "credit" - and what a misnomer that so-called "credit" is.

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