Foreclosure.com Founder, President and CEO, Brad Geisen, recently shared some expert thoughts on the hot-button issue with the New York Times Freakonomics blog:

“When property values are cheap enough that they equal rental values. What I mean by that is when you can buy a property with very little money down and finance it at a good rate, and then rent it out for just enough to cover the mortgage, insurance, and taxes, then you’ve hit what I call ‘economic value.’ That’s when the property value is the same as its economic value. That’s pretty close to bottom. Now, when you have a pendulum swinging, and values are still dropping a bit, it may swing a little past that. If the property was already 30 percent less than market value, and property values are still dropping, and it gets down to economic value, then that’s when the pendulum will begin to stop and begin to swing the other way.”

To check out the entire high-profile question and answer session click here. It’s a must-read “power session.”

The National Association of Realtors (NAR)® recently issued its latest report on the status of the national housing sales market for March 2009, revealing that existing home sales declined 3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million units.

That’s a 7.1 percent drop in Feb. 2009; however, remember that those figures were actually a huge surprise (an increase of 5.1 percent between Jan. and Feb. 2009), which was largely attributed to the enormous interest in discounted foreclosure homes.

In fact, the report indicates that distressed real estate is selling for about 20 percent less than traditional homes right now. That’s perhaps a conservative estimate — we are seeing a tremendous amount of deals that offer great savings between 30 and 50 percent listed on Foreclosure.com every day.

Regardless, it’s good news for those buyers who are currently searching for homes … even if there are less of them — they have more options from which to choose and less competition!

First-time homebuyers are apparently responsible for about 53 percent of the transactions in March 2009, demonstrating that record low home prices and interest rates, as well as limited-time government incentives, are luring them to get while the getting is good. And Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, is confident that the number will increase sooner rather than later.

Here’s a snip:

“The share of lower priced home sales has trended up, indicating a return of many first-time buyers, which we also see in a parallel member survey…. Buyer traffic has been rising, and real estate offices are getting phone inquires about the tax credit. By early summer we should be seeing a positive impact on home sales from record-low mortgage interest rates in addition to the stimulus provisions.”

Be sure to check out Foreclosure.com today and take advantage of our FREE 7-Day Trial to search for amazing home deals in your neighborhood at absolutely no cost. It’s better (and wiser) to get in on the action before everyone else does!

While the final numbers may not be available for a few weeks or even months, a preliminary report released earlier this month by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration indicates that the recently introduced $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers is working better than expected.

In fact, as of either March 6 or March 7, 2009, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) it appears that about 1.4 million taxpayers intend to claim the the tax credit on their 2008 tax returns. And as Inman News points, out that’s very close to meeting or exceeding “the 2 million target set by lawmakers before it sunsets Nov. 30, 2009.”

Of course, taxpayers had until April 15, 2009, to claim the credit on their returns, which means that the estimated 1.4 million figure will likely increase. What’s more, buyers who buy between then and Dec. 1, 2009, can also pocket the $8,000 on their 2009 tax returns.

But there does appear to be a little confusion: Of the 567,685 households that claimed the tax credit, 38,158 weren’t eligible because they may have been homeowners in the last three years.

So be sure you know the requirements before filling out form number 5405!

For those who may be a little late to the party let’s do a quick reset of the $8,000 tax credit, which was part of the $789 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — a blockbuster stimulus initiative that is expected to boost employment and jumpstart the national economy.

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Foreclosure.com is giving back through its Hometown Hero Community Stimulus Program, saluting important community members nationwide with a special limited-time savings offer that will help them find their dream homes at prices they can afford.

Police officers, teachers, military personnel, nurses and everyone else who dedicates their lives and careers to helping others are now eligible to receive a FREE 7-Day Trial, as well as 25 percent savings on a monthly Foreclosure.com subscription — already among the lowest in the business — to search the best database of distressed real estate listings in the United States.

In addition to the limited-time offer, which expires on Dec. 1, 2009, along with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Foreclosure.com will provide a local real estate agent or broker from its successful Community Expert Program to help these interested individuals find their dream homes at prices they can afford.

It’s a one-of-a-kind program that we at Foreclosure.com are very excited to introduce. Here’s a snip from our Vice President, James Houston, from a recent press release:

“We’re in the midst of an amazing buyers market, which has presented these individuals with great opportunities to live in the houses and communities they want rather than having to settle for less. So Foreclosure.com is doing its part to make that happen with this special program…. The prices are right. It’s only a matter of time before the market begins to rebound, mortgage rates start to climb and the government incentives expire. Foreclosure homes are also being gobbled up at a break-neck rate. The time to buy really is right now.”

If you are a “Hometown Hero” and are interested in taking advantage of this money-saving program from Foreclosure.com please visit www.foreclosure.com/hometownhero for eligibility requirements and to begin your home search today.