PARAMOUNT MORTGAGE - LENDER'S BLOG

Proposed Missouri Program to Pay First-Year Property Taxes

Reported by Marshall Griffin, St. Louis Public Radio
 
Jefferson City, MO - St. Louis Public Radio reported on air this week Missouri's Governor Jay Nixon and State Treasurer Clint Zweifel are backing a proposal to pay the first year's property taxes for some Missouri homebuyers.
 
The proposed plan targets families making less than $98,000 a year, who buy a new or existing home after January 1st.
 
Up to $1,750 in first-year property taxes would be paid by the state when a homebuyer purchases an energy efficient new home, or makes energy-efficient improvements to an existing home purchase.
 
Up to $1,250 in first-year property taxes would be paid if you purchase a new or existing home that falls outside of energy efficiency guidelines.
 
The program's cost would be covered by a $15 million reserve fund held by the Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC).
 
State Treasurer Zweifel, who is also the Chairman of the MHDC, says the proposal would help the state's housing market and spur job growth. "We do know the important role that home ownership plays in creation of jobs, and housing and jobs are very connected at every level, so this is a way to reinvest that money in a way that helps ensure that we not only help achieve home ownership for some families, but we also help reinvest that money back into the economy," Zweifel said.
 
The commission includes the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state treasurer and six persons appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. MHDC will meet on December 18th to consider the proposal.
 
Once adopted, Missouri homebuyers will have one more bit of good news. Purchases of new homes in the U.S. rebounded more than anticipated in October as buyers across the nation and in the St. Louis metro area rushed to take advantage of a government tax credit before it expired, according to a news story this week from Bloomberg.com.
 
Now that tax credits have been extended and expanded, new home sales are expected to continue their climb nationwide from October's 6.2 percent increase and 430,000-unit annual pace throughout 2010.

While accounting for less than 10 percent of the housing market, new-home purchases are considered a good indicator of housing health because they are based on contract signings. The number of unsold homes has reached a four-decade low.
 
Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York, was quoted, "Even though the surge is policy-induced, it shows buyers have enough confidence to undertake a major purchase if conditions are right."
 
Link: Property Tax