The extension and expansion of the Homebuying Tax Credit is coming to an end.  The guidelines state that a buyer must have a contract on a home on or before April 30, 2010 and must settle on the home on or before June 30, 2010 to be eligible for the tax credit.

What this means is that if you are planning to take advantage of this opportunity, you should get your pre-qualification letter and begin house hunting now.  Three months is an adequate amount of time to find a home and gives you the flexibility of finding exactly the right home for you.

If you are considering a move this year and want to know all of the details about buying a home, come to one of our 1-hour Home Buying Seminars.  In addition to learning the steps of the homebuying process, you will learn about the tax credit, short sales and foreclosures, the components of a real estate contract, and much more.

Looking for a great deal in this market?  Check out this weeks Best Buy picks.

Want to search for properties like an agent?  Try our state-of-the-art Property Search tool that is updated every 30 minutes and gives you all of the information.

Thinking about selling and want to know what homes in the area are selling for?  Use our Search Home Sales tool.  Just enter an address and instantly view a report of recent homes sales in the neighborhood.

Wishing you sunshine everyday and the home of your dreams,
Jeri

If you have little cash to use as a down payment for a home, this information could be very helpful to you.

After a week of rumors about FHA changing its guidelines, as of this date, it appears that in Spring 2010 we can expect these changes.

Seller help toward closing costs is going to be limited to a maximum of 3% of the purchase price (it is currently a maximum of 6%), so this means that buyers will need to come to the settlement table with a little more cash.

The minimum down payment will be 3.5% of the purchase price unless you have a credit score of 580 or less.  If you have a low credit score, you will need a minium down payment of 10%.

So if you are thinking about buying a home this year and have limited out-of-pocket funds, you might want to consider moving up your timeline and buying before the new guidelines take effect.

Want to know all the ins and outs about buying a home, and how you can benefit from the Homebuying Tax Credit incentives?  Attend one of our FREE Homebuying Seminars!  No pressure, no obligation - just information.

Looking for a deal in this market?  Check out this week's Best Buy picks!  Each week our team scours the market and selects 3 properties that we think are real bargains.

Wishing you sunshine everyday and the home of your dreams,
Jeri

Since most of us are not multi-millionaires, we must make sacrifices when buying a house.  Typically, that means that we will either have to sacrifice location if we want a large house, or we will have to sacrifice the size of the house to get the location we want.

Understanding exactly what your dollar buys you in locations that interest you is crucial when house hunting.  Once you understand what size and type of house you can get in each neighborhood that you are considering, and you come to a decision about what you are willing sacrifice - then you will be able to find the home that is exactly right for you.

CitiMelt is a terrific website that gives you oodles of information about all sorts of locations.  Discover detailed population, education, financial, environment, and crime information on over 30,000 communities nationwide with our Free Neighborhood Navigator.

Research public, private, and catholic schools and districts across the country with our Free School Information Report.

Wishing you sunshine everyday and the home of your dreams,
Jeri

Yesterday, I received my January issue of Maryland Realtor and I was thrilled to see this title on its cover: The Recession has Ended in Maryland's Housing Market.

Basically the article mentioned that the economy is again expanding and sited facts about investments, sales of domestic products, exports, the job market, and government spending to name a few.

With regard to the housing market, Anirban Basu, author of the article stated, "Next year will likely be a year associated with still rising unit sales and still sluggish price appreciation... Were it not for the ongoing foreclosure crisis, one could say with confidence that median and average sales prices will rise in Maryland next year."

Although these are good signs, I am concerned about how the end of the Homebuyer Tax Credit will affect home sales.  Only time will tell.

So if you are thinking about taking advantage of the Homebuyer Tax Credit while it lasts, check out our list of Best Buys, sign up for our free service that gives you unrestricted access to the MLS, or simply call us at 410-215-4201 and we'll help you get started with your home search.

Wishing you sunshine everyday and the home of your dreams,
Jeri

I don't know how many of you saw Barbara Corcoran, the Today show's real estate correspondent who was on the air yesterday, but I really enjoyed the fact that her projections for the 2010 real estate market were spot on with the trends that we've been seeing here in the Greater Baltimore Metropolitan Area.

Toward the end of the 2009 market, we were beginning to see it becoming less of a buyer's market (with the exception of homes in the luxury sector) and movement toward a balanced market.  Prices have begun to stabilize and inventory has declined.  This is very good news for our economy; however, if you are a buyer and were waiting until prices hit rock bottom to jump into the real estate market, you may have missed a golden opportunity.

We are already starting to see a slight increase in prices and combined with declining inventory and government incentives for buying a home, we are certainly pulling out of that downward spiral that our market was in for the last two years.

The luxury home market is still in a slump and if you are in the market for a high-end home, you can still find a great deal.  Since fewer people can afford these homes, there is still quite a bit of inventory and the government incentives don't mean as much - so there are still a lot of bargains in this price range.

For the majority of us though, now is the time to make your move if you are looking to gain equity quickly.  Once we are in a balanced market, the deals will be gone.

Looking for a real deal?  Check out this week's Best Buy picks!

Want to get the most up-to-date real estate information and be able to search like an agent and get the skinny on all of the homes that are for sale or have been sold?  Sign up for our FREE Search Like An Agent account through ListingBook.  We'll give you all of the information and we will not bombard you with emails.

Thinking about taking advantage of the foreclosure market?  Search foreclosures anywhere in the U.S. for free.

If you are thinking about buying a home or moving up into a larger home, my advice to you is don't wait.  Time is running out on great real estate opportunities.

Wishing you sunshine everyday and the home of your dreams in 2010,
Jeri