Could 2009 Be The Time To Buy?

With home prices dropping and mortgage rates at an all time low, could this be the time to move out of that rental and into a home of your own?

What would the difference be in the monthly payment, if any if you were to purchase a home now rather than pay rent??? Let's take a look at the numbers?

Let's look at a typical 3 bedroom, 2 bath home.?? The average rent for a home or apartment of that relative size would be about $1885, and if you paid out $20 per month in renter's insurance your total monthly payment would be $1905.

Now if you were to buy an entry level home of similar size you would likely pay around $248,000.?? Say you had a 10 percent down payment, a 40 percent qualifying ratio, the prevailing one-year ARM mortgage rate, and a 1.038 percent assumed insurance costs and property taxes. The monthly PITI payment under these assumptions is $1,630.

So at first glance you would save around $275 a month by purchasing a home. Now what about the tax benefits?

Say you earn a minimum of $48,900 a year-which is also the minimum income needed to purchase the statewide entry-level home price of $248,000.??If you are a first time home buyer and you bought a home??you could qualify for a tax deduction of over $15,800 in the first year of ownership (assuming a full year of mortgage interest) as well as the one-time tax credit of $8,000 at that home price.

However as a renter you likely could only claim the standard IRS deduction of $10,900, quite a bit less that the homebuyer and that is without taking into consideration the $8000 tax credit.

Factoring in the $8000 credit the First-Time Home Buyer's taxable income is roughly $5000 lower than that of the renter and the difference in their tax liability is more than $8700, in favor of the First-Time Home Buyer thanks to the??Home buyer Tax Credit in 2009.

So clearly in some circumstances you would be much better off to purchase a home now rather than keep renting, and HouseRebate.com can help you find the perfect entry level home for you and your family.?? Stop by our site and take a look at all the great properties we have listed and don't forget to take a our virtual foreclosure tour bus to find great properties and record low prices.