Single Family Home Prices, Adjusted for Inflation, Down 1.6% Since 1979

The average home price has lost ground to inflation over the last 30 years. This graph of single family home prices adjusted for Inflation shows prices have lost ground over the peak price in 1979.

Click Chart courtesy of Chartoftheday.com for large image

The chart shows prices, adjusted for inflation, are now below 1979 levels! According to chartoftheday:

a home buyer who bought the median priced single-family home at the 1979 peak has actually seen that home lose value, a 1.6% loss!

Of course, buyers who purchases their homes between 1980 and the mid 1990s stand a good chance of being ahead of inflation with their purchase. When you add in the savings on rent plus the tax benefits, home ownership looks even better.

The lesson from the chart is don't buy a home (or any asset for that matter) after prices have gone "parabolic." We like to buy homes after major declines in the chart. No matter how you look at it, today is a much better time to buy a home than two years ago.

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$8,000 Home Buyer Federal Tax Credit at a Glance

A tax credit of up to $8,000 is now available for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. Unlike the tax credit enacted in 2008, the new credit does not have to be repaid. Only homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009 are eligible.

Here is a short summary of the Federal Tax Credit.

$8,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit at a Glance

·The tax credit is for first-time home buyers only.

·The tax credit does not have to be repaid.

·The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.

·The credit is available for homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.

·Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

·First-time home buyers who purchased a principal residence on or after April 9, 2008 and before January 1, 2009 may qualify for a $7,500 tax credit.

The law defines "first-time home buyer" as a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. For married taxpayers, the law tests the homeownership history of both the home buyer and his/her spouse.