by Midi on April 16, 2010
Apparently, there was a little known tax added at the last minute to the Obama Health Care Reform Bill. Many questions have been tossed around and it became clear that not many people were aware of this new tax that would obviously affect the real estate industry. Well, thanks to our friends at the Georgia Association of REALTORS (GAR) and through them, the National Association of REALTORS (NAR), I was given this FAQ about this new tax.
Essentially, it is referred to as a Medicare tax and it will affect those sellers of real property who will be otherwise taxed on capital gains under current tax laws. By this, I mean… Under current laws, if you sell your primary residence and meet the ‘time ‘ criteria, you are exempt up to $250,000 or $500,000 (filing individually or jointly). Any amount realized OVER that amount is taxable under current tax schedules based on income. As such, this new tax will apparently be added to the current capital gains tax burden IF your income is over $200,000/$250,000 (filing individually or jointly).
For those selling second homes and investment properties, the tax, once again, will be applied to the amount of gain realized. More incentive to use a 1031 Tax-deferred exchange, yes?
Check out this link for the complete FAQ provided by NAR to learn more about this tax, how it may impact you, who it affects, and when it goes into effect.
Q&A 10 – Medicare Tax on Net Investment Income – 3-25-2010
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by Midi on April 10, 2010
by Midi on October 26, 2009
Just got an interesting email from Steve Nimmer, our local Coldwell Banker Mortgage Rep and in reviewing it, I really appreciated the breakdown and explanation of when these various reports came out and what they meant. So, since Steve sent this to us to share with our clients – I thought share them with anyone who might find them interesting to help understand all the elements that go into helping us prognosticate on the economy and translate things back into how we think the real estate market might be afftected, afterall, it’s all inter-related….
According to Steve:
Tuesday
- The first report of the week is one of the more important ones. October’s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) will be posted late Tuesday morning. This Conference Board index gives us a measurement of consumer willingness to spend. It is expected to show a small increase in confidence from last month’s 53.1 reading, indicating that consumers are a little more likely to make large purchases in the near future than last month
Wednesday
- Wednesday morning the Commerce Department will post Durable Goods Orders for September. This report gives us a measurement of manufacturing sector strength by tracking orders at U.S. factories for big-ticket items
- Also Wednesday is the release of September’s New Home Sales. This data covers the remaining 15% of home sales that last week’s Existing Home Sales report tracked and is this week’s least important data
Thursday
- Reading of the 3rd Quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) early Thursday morning. The GDP is considered to be the benchmark measurement of economic growth because it is the sum of all goods and services produced in the U.S. and therefore is likely to have a major impact on the financial markets and mortgage pricing. There are three versions of this report, each a month apart. Thursday’s release is the first and usually has the biggest impact on the markets
Friday (3 reports)
- The first is the 3rd Quarter Employment Cost Index (ECI), which tracks employer costs for salaries and benefits
- September’s Personal Income and Outlays report will also be posted early Friday. This data gives us an indication of consumer ability to spend and current spending habits. It is important to the markets because consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy
- 10:00 AM ET, the University of Michigan updates their Index of Consumer Sentiment for this month. This index is moderately important because it helps us measure consumer confidence, which is believed to indicate consumers’ willingness to spend
Thanks to Steve Nimmer for this great breakdown of our economic indicators and what they all mean! Now we know!
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