Nicole GruenWith the Trump Administration signing their tax reform legislation just before Christmas, many current and future homeowners wonder what the impact on their tax bill and deductions will be.
In a nutshell: Emeryville has a median home price ranging between $500K – $600K in 2017. The tax reform will have the biggest impact on homeowners that carry a loan of $750K and higher. Most homes in Emeryville are of course condominiums and townhouses and tend to be below that threshold.
Here are the main changes and the effect on homeowners:
- Mortgage Interest Deduction
The decrease of the mortgage interest deduction will affect all home owners with a mortgage higher than $750,000. Old deduction: Deduct interest against $1,000,000 in mortgage debt.
New deduction: Deduct interest against $750,000 in mortgage debt. - Home Equity Line Interest Deduction
This change will affect everyone with a home equity line. Old: Interest on home equity lines are tax-deductible up to $100,000.
New: Home equity lines are not deducible. - State and Local Tax Deduction
This will have a huge impact, since it includes real estate, personal property and state income tax.
Old: No cap.
New: Capped at $10,000. - Standard deductions
The amount for standard deductions doubled. This is potentially off-setting the loss in deductions for mortgage and interest rates.Old: Single filers $6,000 and married filers $12,000.
New: Single filers $12,000 and married filers $24,000
Many ask: should I prepay my property taxes? Taxes can be prepaid, if assessed. I hear conflicting information on it. Ultimately, consult your CPA to get advice.
More reading:
National Association of Realtors Summary →
Nerdwallet Blog →
And now to the November market snapshot in Emeryville: the market slowed down significantly. It seems that, in addition to the holidays, people adopted a ‘wait and see’ approach.
By The Numbers:
Types of Homes Sold:
The number of homes sold for November decreased from 20 to 8.
Studios & 1 Bedroom Homes:
The number of 1 bedroom and studios sold decreased from 11 to 6.
2 Bedroom Homes:
The number of 2 bedroom homes sold increased from 9 to 2.
3 Bedroom + Homes:
There were no single family homes sold in November.
Median Sales Price vs. Median List Price:
Both Median Sales price and Median List price decreased in November with the sales price dipping from $571K to $506K and the list price dropping from $536K to 496K.
Average Days on Market:
The Average Days on the Market for Emeryville homes increased from 24 to 33.
Sales By Location:
For purposes of identifying sales by location, we have divided Emeryville into four geographic areas.
North Emeryville: 6 Homes Sold.
South Emeryville: 2 Homes Sold.
East Emeryville: 0 Homes Sold
West Emeryville: 0 homes Sold
Further insights or shopping for an agent?
Email East Bay Modern REALTOR® Nicole Gruen→.
The increase in the standard deduction will have the most profound impact in Emeryville. A married buyer earning $100k putting 10% down on a $500k primary residence with a 4%, 30-year fixed loan would will pay ~1,500/mo in interest, and the marginal tax benefit of the deduction (at a 35% marginal tax rate) would be $520/mo. Increasing the standard deduction would moot this benefit. This reduces the rational willingness to pay by $109k assuming the prospective buyer was previously deducting more than the $12,700 standard deduction but less than $17,750.