Wither FHA? No way, contend Realtor officials, who point out that half of Orlando buyers relied on FHA loans to purchase new homes in 2009.

The Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance program has seen good days, but even amid some controversy, never better than in today’s market.

According to the 2009 Orlando Regional Realtor Association Profile of Homebuyer and Sellers, more than 50 percent of all buyers of homes in Orlando in 2009 did so with an FHA loan. In addition, 69 percent of first-time buyers used an FHA loan.

“FHA helps provide affordable mortgage financing to homeowners, particularly first-time homebuyers, who are so important in drawing down inventory to help stabilize the current housing market,” comments ORRA Chairman of the Board Kathleen Gallagher McIver of RE/MAX Town & Country Realty. “FHA is a critical part of the American housing fabric.” Read more

The homebuyer tax credit has been expanded and extended — but only until April.

President Barack Obama has signed into law an extension and expansion of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit, but people thinking of buying a home can’t dawdle if they want to claim it. In order to qualify, a transaction must be completed by April 30 of this year.

Among other provisions, the extension adds money for certain move-up buyers; creates one deadline for signing a contract and a later deadline for closing; changes income requirements; and limits a qualifying home’s purchase price to $800,000.

“Extending the homebuyer tax credit and expanding it to reach more homebuyers is the right thing to do,” said 2009 Florida Realtors’ President Cynthia Shelton. “It is critical to maintaining the positive momentum we’ve been experiencing in the housing market and in the overall economy. Extending the homebuyer tax credit into 2010 will help Florida families realize their dream of homeownership, improve our communities and strengthen our economy.”

Studies from economists and housing industry analysts show that the homebuyer tax credit has been working, with home sales increasing and housing inventory declining in recent months, Shelton notes. According to research from the National Association of Realtors, the 2009 homebuyer tax credit has unleashed sales on the lower end of the market and brought into the market up to 400,000 first-time buyers who wouldn’t have bought otherwise. Similarly, in Orlando, sales of existing single-family homes for $250,000 or less accounted for roughly 80 percent of all sales through much of 2009. And sales of existing condos for $50,000 or less alone accounted for nearly half of all condo sales.

Since each home sale generates, on average, about $63,000 in additional economic activity, the 2009 tax credit has contributed approximately $22 billion to the national economy.

“Market activity has certainly picked up; [as of the end of September] we’ve experienced 13 months of increased home sales in Florida,” says John Sebree, vice president of public policy for Florida Realtors. “In addition to bringing new families into the housing market, [the tax credit] has helped stabilize property values. And current owners of Florida properties who will now be eligible for the $6,500 tax credit as [move-up buyers] will also see the added bonus of portability — the ability to take a portion of their Save Our Homes tax savings with them when they move. That is an incredible added incentive.”

While most details of the extension for first-time homebuyers mirror the rules currently in existence, the new law extends the $8,000 tax credit to homes under a sales contract by April 30, with the home purchase under contract completed by June 30. It has been expanded to include a new $6,500 credit for owners of existing homes buying a new principal residence (existing homeowners can claim the $6,500 tax credit if they lived in their principal residence for five consecutive years out of the last eight). And, effective Dec. 1, 2009, income eligibility limits to claim the full credit for both groups of homebuyers were raised to $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for married couples.

Editor’s note: This article was produced in partnership with the Orlando Regional Realtor Association.

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Homebuyer Tax Credit At A Glance

* Extends through April 30, 2010, the tax credit for first-time homebuyers — up to $8,000 or up to 10 percent of the purchase price of the home.

* Provides a homebuyer tax credit of up to $6,500 to owners who have been in the same principal residence for five consecutive years during the previous eight years and are moving up to a higher-priced property.

* Increases the income eligibility limits to $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for joint filers.

* Phases out the credit for individuals with incomes above $125,000 for individuals and joint filers above $225,000 at the same rate as current law (over the next $20,000).

* Limits the credit to purchases of principal residences valued at $800,000 or less.

Florida —Orlando, in particular — attracts international homebuyers that shore up the housing market.

Florida again leads the nation as international homebuyers’ location of choice, with 23 percent of all international buyers in the United States choosing to buy a home for investment or vacation purchases in the state. California follows, with 13 percent of buyers, along with Texas (10.7 percent) and Arizona (7.1 percent). Read more

Survey: State and federal programs are helping to overcome Americans’ concerns about down-payment costs and job security while other issues persist.

Most Americans still consider accumulating enough money for down-payment and closing costs to be the biggest obstacles to buying a home. That’s according to the 2009 National Housing Pulse Survey, published annually by the National Association of Realtors.

The survey, which measures the way affordable-housing issues affect consumers, also found job security concerns to be the highest in seven years of sampling. Two-thirds of respondents think job layoffs and unemployment are big problems; eight in 10 cite these issues as barriers to homeownership. Read more

Orlando’s current housing market is ripe with available affordable homes. The area’s affordability index has hovered near the 200 percent mark for months.

An affordability index of 99 means that buyers earning the state-reported median income are 1 percentage point short of earning the income necessary to buy a median-priced home. Conversely, an affordability index greater than 100 means that median-income earners make more than is necessary to buy a median-priced home. Buyers who earn the reported median income of $52,421 can qualify to buy one of 9,318 homes in Orange and Seminole counties currently listed in the local Multiple Listing Service for $238,757 or less.

As of June, first-time homebuyer affordability, while slightly lower than previously to accommodate lower median income levels, was nevertheless also at a record level (130.60 percent). At that time, first-time buyers who earned the reported median income of $35,646 could qualify to buy one of 5,462 homes in Orange and Seminole counties listed in the local MLS for $144,316 or less.

For first-time homebuyers, the Florida Homebuyer Opportunity Program can turn a tax rebate tomorrow into a down payment today.

Most first-time homebuyers qualify for the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit, established through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 as an income tax rebate regardless of tax owed. To qualify, they must first buy a home, submit the information to the IRS through their tax return and wait for the $8,000 rebate.

Yet now, to help Florida’s first-time homebuyers secure money early enough in the home-purchase process to use it as a down payment, the state of Florida has created assistance: the Florida Homebuyer Opportunity Program.

The program provides state-funded bridge loans for first-time homebuyers to use for a down payment and then repay after the new homeowners receive their federal tax credit.  Read more