NAPTOWNREALESTATE.COM: 5 Reasons Why You Should Buy a Home in 2010

By: Jenny Zhang, Quizzle.com

For many of us, a new year represents a clean slate, a time to start anew and do things better than the year before. Whether you're into setting concrete resolutions or you prefer to think more generally about your goals, there's one item that you should have on your list: Buying a home in 2010.

Even if you're already a homeowner, here are five reasons why this year is the the right time to think about purchasing a new home:

1. First-time home buyer tax credit

The home buyer tax credit has been extended to April 30, 2010, and it's no longer just for first-time buyers. First-time home buyers qualify for up to $8,000 and existing homeowners qualify for up to $6,500 on a new home if they’ve lived in their current home for five years or more. Remember: April is just a few months away, so if you're going to take advantage of the tax credit, start looking for your new home now!

2. High inventory of homes

There is no better time than now to buy a home because in all likelihood, there will never again be such a large selection of available homes in every part of the country. You can literally pick the neighborhood and city where you'd like to own a home in and in many cases, the actual street on which you want to live.

3. Low cost of homes

Homes are on sale! Not only are many homes readily available, they’re also about half price in most areas. Many homes that were valued at $160,000 just two years ago are now down to $75,000. Buy your dream home now before property values rise.

4. Low mortgage rates

Interest rates have not been this low for more than decade; buying a home now could potentially save you thousands of dollars just on the rate alone than if you wait for rates to rise. Already in your dream home? Consider refinancing into a lower interest rate to take advantage of this opportunity.

5. Capital gains, building equity and tax deductions

Buying a home now is truly an investment – more so than ever before. Why? Because homes are cheap and every investor knows that it's smart to “Buy low, sell high." If you buy a home now and just pay the minimum payment on your mortgage each month, you’re still building equity that renting doesn't allow.

If you own your home, it's also appreciating without your help. In 10 years, it’s naturally going to be worth more than it is now, making you a winner; you can sell it and reap the gains. Finally, there are many tax deductions for home improvements and home ownership generally that are pretty helpful, especially compared to renting a home where you get little, if any, tax benefit.

Looking for more? Check out Quizzle.com for helpful tips and tidbits about your home, money and credit, plus free tools to help you make the most of them - including a free credit report and free credit score.

Jenny Zhang is an experienced personal finance writer with a knack for taking complex money issues and making them clear and simple. By day, she's a home loan expert at Quicken Loans, America's #1 online lender, where she specializes in writing about home buying, refinancing and money saving tips.