Wednesday, November 14, 2012

The 3.8% Tax - News from the National Association of Realtors

What's This 3.8% Tax Anyway?

llctaxes.com - image credit

According to the National Association of Realtors, here are the top 10 Things You Need to Know About the 3.8% Tax 


*  When you add up all of your income from every possible source, and that total is less than $200,000 ($250,000 on a joint tax return), you will not be subject to this tax.

*  The 3.8% tax will never be collected as a transfer tax on real estate of any type, so you'll never pay this tax at the time that you purchase a home or other investment property.

*  You'll never pay this tax at settlement when you sell your home or investment property. Any capital gain you realize at settlement is just one component of that year's gross income.

*  If you sell your principal residence, you will still receive the full benefit of the $250,000 (single tax return)/$500,000 (married filing joint tax return) exclusion on the sale of that home. If your capital gain is greater than these amounts, then you will include any gain above these amounts as income on your Form 1040 tax return. Even then, if your total income (including this taxable portion of gain on your residence) is less than the
$200,000/$250,000 amounts, you will not pay this tax. If your total income is more than these amounts, a formula will protect some portion of your investment.

*  The tax applies to other types of investment income, not just real estate. If your income is more than the $200,000/$250,000 amount, then the tax formula will be applied to capital gains, interest income, dividend income and net rents (i.e., rents after expenses).

*  The tax goes into effect in 2013. If you have investment income in 2013, you won't pay the 3.8% tax until you file your 2013 Form 1040 tax return in 2014. The 3.8% tax for any later year will be paid in the following calendar year when the tax returns are filed.

*  In any particular year, if you have no income from capital gains, rents, interest or dividends, you'll never pay this tax, even if you have millions of dollars of other types of income.

*  The formula that determines the amount of 3.8% tax due will always protect $200,000 ($250,000 on a joint return) of your income from any burden of the 3.8% tax. For example, if you are single and have a total of $201,000 income, the 3.8% tax would never be imposed on more than $1,000.
*  It's true that investment income from rents on an investment property could be subject to the 3.8% tax. But, the only rental income that would be included in your gross income and therefore possibly subject to the tax is net rental income: gross rents minus expenses like depreciation, interest, property tax, maintenance and utilities.

*  The tax was enacted along with the health care legislation in 2010. It was added to the package just hours before the final vote and without review. NAR strongly opposed the tax at the time, and remains hopeful that it will not go into effect. The tax will no doubt be debated during the upcoming tax reform debates in 2013.
If you think that your capital gains, rent, interest or dividend income will exceed the $200,000/$250,000 threshhold, it's probably a good time to be talking to your accountant to plan for the upcoming additional tax expenses.


November 2012 Summit County Colorado Good Deals

The good deals are disappearing.  For many months now I have been featuring good deals by pulling out of our MLS those listings that are bank owned, foreclosures, REO, short sales, along with those that have motivated sellers and say "bring all offers."  In the past I would have as many 75 properties in the search.  This month, there are 14.  While there still are good deals to pick up, it's like being 2 hours late to the Filene's Basement Annual Bridal Sale.  What's left are the ugly dresses or those that need a lot of work.

Click on the link below to see the good deals!

RES - Client Detail Report

www.123rf.com - photo credit.

Summit County Real Estate Notes

Breckenridge, CO 80424



With respect to the Summit County residential market, as I have been saying for months now, we are seeing a slow and steady climb out of the recession pit.  I am seeing well-priced properties moving and buyers who think they have plenty of time, may lose their top property picks to another buyer.  Also, buyers who try to "push the envelope" too far will not get the concessions they could have expected only a short time ago.  Noticeable price appreciation isn't happening just yet, but distressed properties are all but gone, and as sales continue, prices will climb.  With interest rates at all time lows, it's the "perfect storm" buying opportunity:  low interest rates, pre-appreciation pricing, and just out of the bottom timing.

Another sign of recovery is the fact that vacant land is the one sector where we are seeing price appreciation.  Builders and developers are feeling confident that the market is returning.  New construction is appearing in Summit County and when it is completed, developers are hopeful the market will have returned. 

Amy Nakos, JD, GRI
anakos@yourcastle.org
970-389-8388

Summit County Colorado Real Estate Market Statistics - November 2012


Real Estate Statistics
September 2012 best month of 2012.
Vacant land average price increase; higher priced residential sales increase.

August 2012 had a total of 129 residential improved transactions, with a total dollar volume of $61 million up from July’s 99 transactions and $51.7 million in dollar volume.  September 2012 had a total of 124 residential transactions with dollar volume at $77.6.  While there were less transactions in September than in August, the dollar volume was up $16M or a 27% increase.   
Dollar volume for all types of property was $68.8M in August, up from July’s $63.1M. August 2012 total dollar volume was up 4% from August 2011 dollar volume which came in at $65.9M – a steady increase, divergent from July’s increase of 77% over the previous year.  August’s total number of transactions came in at 159, up 33 from July’s 126.  September’s total for all real estate was $88.1M with a total of 158 transactions. September dollar volume year over year increased by 10% while the number of transactions year over year went down by 1 transaction, indicating that the average price for property sales are increasing.
October 2012 residential sales from our MLS indicate 135 residential properties sold with dollar volume at $73.3 million – a nice jump from June and July.  Most of the August closings fall within the $100K-$600K price range.
August’s strongest price point was the $200,000-$300,000 price range with 28 total sales.  The $400,000-$500,000 price point came in second with 21 sales and the $300,000-$400,000 price point had 20 sales.  With more higher priced properties closing, the $500,000-$600,000 price point closed August with 17 sales. 
September showed an interesting trend of 11 properties closing in the $1.0-$1.5M price range.  As usual, the leaders in sales volume was the $200,000-$300,000 price point at 24 sales, the $300,000-$400,000 price point at 21 sales, under $200,000 at 14 sales and the $600,000-$700,000 price point at 13 sales. 
Average prices from 2006 to 2011 are as follows; 2012 numbers are year to date averages through September 2012:

Single Family Homes:

2006 - $737,253
2007 - $798,889
2008 - $835,803
2009 - $905,030
2010 - $770,797
2011 - $734,262
2012 - $758,340

Multi Family:

2006 - $333,501
2007 - $406,529
2008 - $463,633
2009 - $398,051
2010 - $425,080
2011 - $367,280
2012 - $360,718

Vacant Land:

2006 - $311,951
2007 - $391,587
2008 - $470,260
2009 - $399,025
2010 - $336,625
2011 - $246,478
2012 - $314,185

As of November 7, 2012, there are 1,177 active residential listings in Summit County, down 330 from September.  The total dollar value of current inventory is $823M.  With the winter rental season upon us, Sellers who didn’t sell are putting their properties into rental pools.  As of the same date there are 400 land listings.

With respect to residential listings, average days on the market is 397; median days on the market is 230 – these numbers jumped from September given the fact that many properties were taken off the market.

Our MLS is showing 212 residential properties currently Pending with a total dollar volume of $98.9M. 

According to Summit County assessor data there are 25,660 residential properties and 2,564 pieces of vacant land.  When looking at inventory for sale, 4.5% of residential properties are for sale and 15.6% of vacant land parcels are for sale.  Industry experts say that a healthy market has less than 10% inventory. 

Industry experts also say that more than 6 months of inventory is a sign of a weak or “buyers” market.  With 124 residential properties selling in September and inventory of 1,177, it will take around 9.49 months to sell the entire residential inventory. 

Below are the total dollar amounts of sales in September from 2004 to 2012:

September 2004   $116.1M
September 2005   $161.3M
September 2006   $219.9M
September 2007   $168.7M
September 2008   $127.1M
September 2009   $81.0M
September 2010   $78.2M
September 2011   $79.8M
September 2012   $88.1M

Total Dollar Volume for 2004-2011 is as follows:

2004                            $1.12B
2005                            $1.47B
2006                            $1.63B
2007                            $1.63B
2008                            $1.06B
2009                            $683M
2010                            $698.4M
2011                            $684.2M

The year 2006 had the most dollar volume totaling $1,637,874,800.
If you would like to see the statistics from Land Title that provides the source for this newsletter, here is a link: 


What does all of this mean to you?  

Buyers:  Higher priced inventory is moving through the sales process as lower priced inventory continues to disappear.  Vacant land costs have taken a jump and developers are building new product, feeling bullish that when their projects are done, demand will be in place to purchase the new units. As each day passes, you will see that prices will continue to increase and desirable, well priced product will be purchased quickly. 
Sellers:  Certain market segments are moving quickly and others are still stagnant.  If you purchased at the height, don’t expect to recoup your costs anytime soon.  If, however, you have been thinking about selling for some time, there is a chance that your property might be able to bring you a return.