What does the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act mean to our industry? While many of the expenditure details are still pending, the news overall is pretty good.
Here is a summary of the residential construction spending stimulus as well as tax incentives designed to motivate home buying and remodeling.
- First time homebuyer tax credit $11.5 billion. Maximum value of individual tax credit $8,000. This will stimulate demand among prospective buyers and generate multiplier effect for homeowners seeking to sell existing homes.
- FHA and GSE loan limits of the greater of $729,750. This reduces housing finance cost and stimulates housing demand.
- Low income housing tax credit: supplemental resources. Allows state housing agencies to receive a grant equal to 85% of 40% of the states low income housing tax credit allocation in lieu of the low income housing tax credits they would have received. Provides additional equity to housing tax credit projects lacking investment from syndication markets.
- Expansion and extension of the existing homes energy tax credit $2 billion through 2010. This is a tax credit for existing homeowners to remodel for energy efficiency including windows, hot water heaters and other appliances.
- Expansion of the residential solar, wind and geothermal energy tax credit. Lifts all caps (prior limit up to $2,000) for installation of energy saving equipment. Estimated to generate $1 billion in remodeling activity through 2018.
- Increase in New Markets tax credit allocations for 2008 and 2009 to $45 billion in tax credit qualified investment. This will promote commercial development.
- Public housing Capital Fund: $4 billion for the repair and modernization of public housing assets.
- Native American Housing Block Grants: $510 million to improve the energy efficiency of 42,000 housing units.
- Neighborhood Stabilization: $42 billion for the purchase and rehabilitation of foreclosed and vacant properties.
- Energy Efficiency Housing Retrofits: $250 million. For Home Weatherization, $5 billion. Smart Appliances $300 million for rebates to homeowners who replace old appliances with new energy efficient ones.
- Community Development block Grants $1 billion for community development, including housing.
There is much more in the bill including $49 billion for transportation and $30 billion for energy.
Reference:
Restore Media, LLC
# posted by MJM : 12:06 PM
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