How Obama's Stimulus Plan Helps Buyers and Home Owners

Some potential benefits for buyers from Obama's 2009 Stimulus Plan:

-$8,000 tax credit - a true credit to a first-time buyer, does not have to be paid back if the buyer lives in the subject property for at least 3 years (begins to phase out for couples earning more than $150k, and singles earning more than $75k) for purchases before December 1, 2009
-Increased Conforming Loan Limits - for the Washington, D.C. metro are, loan limits are back up to $729,750; after Jan 1, loan limits were dropped to $625,500

Some potential benefits for home owners from the plan:
-Home Improvement Tax Credit- Everyone's talking about going "Green" - now you can get paid for it. Making your condo energy efficient makes you eligible for a credit of 30% of the cost of the improvement, up to a maximum of $1,500 (or a total cost of $4,500).

We will see when these become official, and how they'll affect the market. With spring around the corner, buyer and seller activity will/is picking up.