Will mortgage deduction changes effect San Diego homeownership
March 13th, 2009 Categories: Real Estate News, San Diego County Community News, San Diego county Real Estate News, Triathlon Club of San Diego Race Reports
SAN DIEGO– As a member of the California Association of Realtors I receive various newsletters and announcements. Yesterday I received an enewsletter titled Market Matters.
Normally I scan these very quickly, but this time the headline “Obama’s plan to limit write-offs provokes push-back”. It seems that my association is opposing a plan by the Obama administration to limit tax deduction related to real estate.
The Obama administration’s first budget proposal included a provision to reduce the mortgage interest and local property tax deductions for those earning more than $250,000.
The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) and the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) are strongly opposed to this provision and are working to convince lawmakers to oppose it as well.
Although the government predicts it could save billions of dollars by reducing the deductions, it also will negatively impact the California housing market; further erode opportunities for homeownership in the state; and will contribute to further price declines and diminished equity for homeowners.
First I know that no one likes to pay more than their fair share of taxes, while some don’t even like to do that, and this is not a political statement, but one statement really jumped out at me and prompted this repsonse; further erode opportunities for homeownership in the state. Are you kidding me? This is the association who strives to promote itself as the gateway to the American dream and they are missing the target. Remember this would effect those that earn in excess of $250,000 not all those with mortgages.
In San Diego county, one of the priciest housing markets in the nation, we are finally approaching an affordability rate of 50% with a median income of $72,100 which is a considerably long ways off of $250,000.
A silver lining to San Diego County’s falling home prices emerged yesterday as an index showed housing affordability approaching the 50 percent mark for the first time in 15 years.
A report from the National Association of Home Builders showed that 44.6 percent of homes sold in the fourth quarter of 2008 were affordable to households earning the county’s median income of $72,100.– Roger Showley,San Diego Union Tribune
February 20, 2009
According to the 2006 census approximately 3.4% of US households make over $200,000 a year. Looking specifically at San Diego, our wealthiest zip code is that of Rancho Santa Fe and according to Mongabay.com’s wealth report the average salary was $242,282.
I am curious who CAR is really looking out for as this proposal in no way would hamper home ownership? Are we really to beleive that those that earn over $250,000 a year would stop buying real estate? PAH-leeze.
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Great post, I am doing a tax paper for the home owner interest deduction and your view on this point is exactly the same argument that policy makers have against the home owner interest deduction.
Comment by Keith — April 20, 2009 #
[…] DIEGO- Back in March, I wrote a blog post about a proposed mortgage interest deduction change by the Obama administration. The proposed plan would limit the deductible amount of both […]
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