Category Archives: Real Estate

Chinese Communist Government Economic Strategies Baffle Economists

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In the capital city of Beijing, the Chinese Communist authoritarian regime is grappling with the harsh reality of self-inflicted economic struggles.

The ongoing real estate crisis in China presents a significant challenge to the Communist Party, with industry giants like Evergrande and Country Garden facing liquidation orders. Chinese citizens heavily were invested in real estate, with approximately 70 percent of their investments allocated to this sector, twice the amount seen in the United States.

The long-term real estate fundamentals have changed — China’s population has likely peaked, urbanization is slowing and home ownership is already very high.

Moreover, official economic figures released by the People’s Republic are often met with skepticism from experts, who believe gross domestic product (GDP) numbers are fantasy. For example, Foreign Policy reported that China’s economic growth in 2023 may have been significantly lower than the stated 5.2 percent, possibly around 1.5 percent.

China’s overall debt-to-GDP ratio is about 300% and rising, which is the highest among emerging markets and higher than most advanced economies. While China’s central government debt is relatively small at just above 20% of GDP, debt at the local government level is estimated to be more than 70% of GDP.

A debt crisis is typically a liquidity crisis  

Additionally, China’s government has substantial assets that can help pay debt. More importantly, a debt crisis is typically a liquidity crisis, and in the case of China, high domestic saving kept by capital controls at domestic banks means that more than 95% of China’s debt is domestic debt, financed by relatively stable domestic deposits and not subject to sentiment change of international investors.

Despite the Chinese Communist regime’s message of China being “open for business” to the global business community and financial elites, the reality paints a different picture. Beijing’s autocratic government enacted a draconian law that requires domestic and international companies operating in China to share business secrets and intellectual property with the Communist Party. This policy has raised concerns about the country’s investment and business environment. While the intention behind such measures may be national security and autocratic control related, it also poses challenges for companies operating in China.

Bottomline, the Chinese economy is plagued by a litany of challenges.

Local governments are struggling with financial difficulties after three years of pandemic spending and declining land sales. Some cities in China can’t repay their debts and have hadto cut basic services or reduce medical benefits for seniors.

The real estate crisis has deepened. Plunging home sales have pushed developers like Country Garden to the brink of collapse. The crisis has spilled over to the massive shadow banking sector, causing defaults and sparking protests across the country.

Youth unemployment has become so bad that the government stopped publishing the data.

Foreign companies have grown wary of Beijing’s rising scrutiny and are pulling out of the country. In the third quarter, a measure of foreign direct investment (FDI) into China turned negative for the first time since 1998.

Foreign investors beware when investing capital in an communist and autocratic country.

References:

  1. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/xi-s-economic-strategies-baffle-even-chinese-economists/ar-BB1jpZa9
  2. https://www.npr.org/2023/08/16/1193711035/china-economy-tao-wang-interview
  3. https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/27/economy/china-economy-challenges-2024-intl-hnk/index.html

Falling Home Sales and Rising Mortgage Rates

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Existing home sales have declined for seven straight months as the rising cost to borrow money puts homes out of reach for more people.

Many potential homebuyers are opting out of the housing market as the higher 30-year mortgage interest rates add hundreds of dollars to monthly mortgage payments. On the opposite side of the transaction, many homeowners are reluctant to sell as they are likely locked into a much lower rate than they’d get on their next home mortgage.

Rapidly rising 30-year mortgage interest rates threaten to sideline even more prospective homebuyers. Last year, prospective homebuyers were looking at 30-year mortgage rates well below 3% APR.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year rate climbed to 6.29%. That’s the highest it’s been since August 2007, a year before a crash in the housing market triggered the Great Recession.

“The rising mortgage rate has clearly hampered the housing market,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist. “The housing sector is the most sensitive to and experiences the most immediate impacts from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy changes.”

Sales of existing homes fell 19.9% year-over-year from August last year, and are now at the slowest annual pace since May 2020, near the start of the pandemic, according to NAR.

The national median home price jumped 7.7% in August from a year earlier to $389,500. As the housing market has cooled, home prices have been rising at a more moderate pace after surging annually by around 20% earlier this year. Before the pandemic, the median home price was rising about 5% a year.

The August home sales report is the latest evidence that the housing market, a key driver of economic growth, is slowing from its breakneck pace in recent years as homebuyers grapple with the highest mortgage rates in more than a decade, as well as inflation that is hovering near a four-decade high.

Higher home prices and mortgage rates have pushed mortgage payments on a typical home from $897 to $1,643 a month, an 83% increase over the past three years, according to an analysis by real estate information company Zillow.

Some 85% of US homeowners with a mortgage now have an interest rate well below 6%, according to Redfin. The disparity gives less incentive to these homeowners to sell and buy another home, because taking on a higher mortgage rate would mean paying more over the life of the loan and also as bigger monthly payment.

By raising federal funds borrowing interest rates, the Federal Reserve makes it costlier to take out a mortgage loan. Consumers then presumably borrow and spend less, cooling the economy and slowing inflation*.

Mortgage rates don’t necessarily mirror the Fed’s interest rate increases, but tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. That’s influenced by a variety of factors, including investors’ expectations for future inflation and global demand for US Treasurys.

References:

  1. https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/existing-home-sales-slipped-0-4-in-august
  2. https://nypost.com/2022/09/22/mortgage-rates-jump-to-6-29-highest-in-15-years/
  3. https://www.zillow.com/research/august-existing-home-sales-2022-31458/
  4. https://nypost.com/2022/09/21/existing-home-sales-drop-for-7th-straight-month-in-august/

*August’s CPI data showed that inflation is not slowing as expected and required the 75-basis point interest increase from the Federal Reserve. In addition, jobless claims showed a persistently tight labor market, which could drive up costs of goods and services as wages increase.

Housing Market Recession

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In July 2022, existing-home sales were down 5.9% from June and 20.2% from one year ago. ~ National Association of Realtors

U.S. existing home sales fell for the sixth consecutive month in July 2022, the longest streak of declines in eight years, the National Association of Realtors reported. Higher mortgage rates and a shortage of available homes on the market have cooled the once red-hot housing market.

Existing-Home Sales data measures sales and prices of existing single-family homes for the nation overall. These figures include condos and co-ops, in addition to single-family homes.

The drop off is a clear sign that the formerly booming market has stalled. Moreover, home building is slowing and mortgage applications are falling as more potential buyers are deciding to stay on the sidelines. “We’re witnessing a housing recession in terms of declining home sales and home building,” said Lawerence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. “However, it’s not a recession in home prices. Inventory remains tight and prices continue to rise nationally with nearly 40% of homes still commanding the full list price.”

As new and existing home sales are slowing, the relentless rise in house price are beginning to show signs of easing. The median sales price for a home fell in July, the first decline since January.

Higher borrowing cost has taken some of the air out of the market. The Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates to control inflation and mortgage rates have risen in response.

The combination of higher housing prices and rising interest rates has pushed housing affordability to its lowest level in decades.

Moreover, home builder confidence plunged to a new two-year low in August as higher interest rates, posting its eighth consecutive monthly decline.

Additionally, lingering supply chain problems and record home prices continue to exacerbate housing affordability challenges, the National Association of Home Builders reported, prompting some experts to warn that the housing market collapse could be far from over.

References:

  1. https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/existing-home-sales-retreated-5-9-in-july
  2. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2022/08/15/housing-market-recession-is-here-home-builders-slash-prices-as-buyers-cancel-contracts-mortgage-rates-rise/

U.S. Housing Market

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Updated: July 22, 2022

Home sellers are contending with apprehensive buyers amid rising mortgage rates and the possibility of an oncoming recession. RedFin

Single family home sales in June showed the first signs of leveling off after steady monthly increases for more than a year, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record. Although, sellers still were receiving slightly above 100% of asking price in June in certain housing markets, the general trend is mixed nationwide.

Price drops have become a common feature of the cooling housing market, particularly in places that were popular with homebuyers earlier in the pandemic, writes Dana Anderson, a data journalist at Redfin. Nearly two-thirds (61.5%) of homes for sale in Boise, ID, had a price drop in June, the highest share of the 97 metros in RedFin’s analysis. Next came Denver (55.1%) and Salt Lake City (51.6%), each metros where more than half of for-sale homes had a price drop. 

Home prices rise in June

In June 2022, home prices were up 11.2% compared to last year, selling for a median price of $428,379, according to Redfin.

On average, the number of homes sold was down 17.4% year over year and there were 609,147 homes sold in June this year, down 737,598 homes sold in June last year. The national average 30 year fixed rate mortgage rate is at 5.5% and is up 2.5 points year over year.

While also in June 2022, the number of homes for sale was 1,647,846, up 1.6% year over year.

The number of newly listed homes was 782,083 and down 4.4% year over year. The median days on the market was 18 days, up from 3 year over year. The average months of supply is 18 months, up from 3 year over year.

Additionally, 55.5% of homes sold lower list price, down 0.86 points year over year. There were only 17.9% of homes that had price drops, up from 9.0% of homes in June last year. There was a 102.3% sale-to-list price, down 0.24 points year over year.

Moreover, inflation and higher mortgage rates have slowed sales and priced out of the housing market many potential home buyers. As a result, the inventory of homes are beginning to pile up on the market and prices are slowly falling nationwide.

Takeaway…the once red hot U.S. housing market is showing signs of cooling and housing prices are contracting. Instead of over eager buyers and multiple offers on listed homes for sale, buyers are canceling sales contracts in increasing numbers and walking away from earnest money. And, what was unthinkable just a year ago, home sellers and builders are cutting home prices to entice potential home buyers and close sales.

For sellers, there is still money to be made in the housing market, but asking prices need to be very attractive to home buyers.

References:

  1. https://www.redfin.com/us-housing-market
  2. Dana Anderson, More than 60% of Boise Home Sellers Dropped Their Asking Price in June Amid Cooling Market, Redfin.com, July 14, 2022. https://www.redfin.com/news/price-drops-cooling-market-june-2022/
  3. Dan MacDonald, Northeast Florida home prices dip after months of increases, Jacksonville Daily Record, July 22, 2022, pg. 4. https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/northeast-florida-home-prices-dip-after-months-of-increases

Home Buyers Cancelling Contracts

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Home buyers are increasingly canceling home purchase contracts citing a slowing housing market, and rising mortgage rates as biggest factors

Approximately 60,000 home purchase agreements were canceled last month by homebuyers, about 14.9 percent of homes that went under contract that month, according to a report from Redfin.

The cancellation rate is the highest percentage since Redfin began collecting the data in 2017, excluding March and April 2020, the first two months of the pandemic.

The percentage of canceled contracts compared to homes put under contract is up from 12.7 percent in May and up from 11.2 percent year-over-year.

Prospective homebuyers are canceling contracts for two primary reasons:

  • Some are exercising contingency clauses, which were waived by many buyers to increase their offer’s chances of being accepted when the market was hotter.
  • Others are backing out because of rising mortgage rate. In mid-June, the average 30-year fixed-rate loan flew past 6 percent, significantly higher than it was at the beginning of the year, when it was at an average of 3.22 percent.

Housing prices are still rising but less than they were, and signed contracts indicate the number of sales will drop in the coming months.

The housing market has cooled in recent weeks as the Federal Reserve has boosted interest rates in an effort to quell four decade high consumer price index (CPI) inflation. That has given house hunters more freedom to seek concessions from home sellers, but higher rates also make housing less affordable for average Americans.

References:

  1. https://therealdeal.com/2022/07/11/deal-or-no-deal-home-buyers-increasingly-canceling-contracts/amp/
  2. https://www.redfin.com/news/home-purchases-fall-through-2022/

Wells Fargo rejected nearly half of their Black homeowners refinancing applications

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Only 47% of Black homeowners who submitted home mortgage loan refinance applications in 2020 were approved by Wells Fargo as opposed to 72% of white homeowners, according to a Bloomberg News analysis

While home mortgage rates in the U.S. hit an all-time low during the pandemic, African American homeowners did not have the same level of access to refinance and ultimately lower their long term interest costs as other homeowners.

“Only 47% of the Black homeowners who submitted refinance applications in 2020 were approved by Wells Fargo as opposed to 72% of white homeowners”, according to a Bloomberg News.

Wells Fargo rejected more Black homeowners refinance applications than it accepted.

While Black applicants had lower approval rates than White applicants at all major lenders, the data show, Wells Fargo lagged behind other major lenders in their approval rates for minority applicants and had the biggest disparity and was alone in rejecting more Black homeowners than it accepted. Overall, 71% of Black refinancing applicants in the country were approved in 2020, according to Bloomberg’s analysis.

Wells Fargo, the third largest bank in the United States by assets, was the sole lender that rejected more Black applicants than it accepted. Black homeowners faced more refinancing denials than other minority applicants such as Hispanic homeowners and Asian homeowners,

This remarkable wealth event has seen U.S. homeowners refinance almost $5 trillion in mortgages over the past two years. This refinancing has allowed White homeowners to save an estimated $3.8 billion annually by refinancing their mortgages in 2020, according to researchers at the U.S Federal Reserve. But it’s a door that barely opened for Black Americans, who make up 9% of all homeowners and locked in just $198 million a year, less than 4% of the savings.

Bias in Wells Fargo’s approvals for refinancing home mortgage loans

Wells Fargo approved a greater share of applications from low-income White homeowners than all but the highest-income Black applicants, who had an approval rate about the same as White borrowers in the lowest-income bracket.

The U.S. Justice Department has censored banks for lending practices that tend to elevate costs for minority borrowers. After the 2008 housing crisis revealed discriminatory treatment, authorities unleashed a wave of penalties against U.S. lending giants. Wells Fargo agreed in 2012 to pay more than $184 million to settle federal claims that it unfairly steered Black and Hispanic homeowners into subprime mortgages and charged them higher fees and interest rates.

References:

  1. https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-wells-fargo-black-home-loan-refinancing/
  2. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/wells-fargo-rejected-nearly-half-of-their-black-homeowners-refinancing-applications/ar-AAVa7tL

Housing Boom is Over as New Home Sales Fall to Pandemic Low

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“Housing has been one of the brightest lights of the economic recovery from COVID-19, but a shortage of homes for sale and rising prices have crimped sales.” U. S. News & World Report

CNBC reported that:

  • Sales of new single family homes fell to an annualized rate of 676,000, 6.6% below May’s rate of 724,000 and 19.4% below the June 2020 level of 839,000.
  • The inventory of new homes for sale jumped from a 5.5-month supply in May to a 6.3-month supply in June. Last fall, it sat at a low of just 3.5 months.

Sales of newly built homes dropped in June to the lowest level since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in April 2020, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

After a year of frenzied buying and price gains in the double digits, newly built homes are now out of reach for much of the demand that remains in the market, according to CNBC. 

The median price of a newly built home in June rose just 6% from June 2020, and while that is a large gain historically, it is nothing compared with the 15%-20% annual gains seen in previous months.

Most of the homebuying is on the higher end of the market, and builders cannot afford to put up affordable homes due to skyrocketing construction costs.

Softwood lumber, in particular, spiked more than 300% during the pandemic, and while it has fallen back dramatically in the last month, it is still about 75% above its 2019 average. Other lumber products are still significantly more expensive.

“We also know there are shortages of appliances, labor and affordable lots,” noted Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at the Bleakley Advisory Group. “The moderation in home sales is likely a combination of sticker shock and the slowdown in the ability of builders to finish homes because of a variety of delays.”

While there is unquestionably still strong demand from buyers, much of it is being squelched by affordability and supply issues.

Those signs clearly showed up at builder home sites in June and have been a factor in weakening homebuilder sentiment for the past two months. Noted builder analyst Ivy Zelman wrote as much in a note last month.

The U.S. housing market is a major indicator of the strength of the economy.

When the economy is strong and people are confident about the future, they are more inclined to buy houses, upgrade their current homes or buy larger houses. When they are more concerned about the economy, new home construction, remodeling, median prices and housing sales are all depressed.

For years, real estate was considered a reliable way to increase personal wealth because the cost of property and housing consistently increased over time.

References:

  1. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/26/housing-boom-is-over-as-new-home-sales-fall-to-pandemic-low.html
  2. https://www.census.gov/construction/nrs/pdf/newressales.pdf
  3. https://www.usnews.com/topics/subjects/housing-market
  4. https://www.usnews.com/news/economy/articles/2021-07-26/new-home-sales-slip-66-in-june

Tax on the Sale of a House (Primary Residence)

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If you sell your home for a profit, some of the capital gain could be taxable. Capital gains are the profits from the sale of an asset — shares of stock, a piece of land, a business — and generally are considered taxable income.

The IRS and many states assess capital gains taxes on the difference (profit) between what you pay for an asset — your cost basis — and what you sell it for. Capital gains taxes can apply to investments, such as stocks or bonds, and tangible assets like cars, boats and real estate.

To minimize your tax burden, the IRS typically allows you to exclude up to:

  • $250,000 of capital gains on your primary residence if you’re single.
  • $500,000 of capital gains on real estate if you’re married and filing jointly.

You will have to meet certain criteria in order to qualify for this exclusion, so be sure to review them before you sell. You might qualify for an exception, and adding the value of home improvements you’ve made could help.

For example, if you bought a home 10 years ago for $200,000 and sold it today for $800,000, you’d make $600,000. If you’re married and filing jointly, $500,000 of that gain might not be subject to the capital gains tax (but $100,000 of the gain could be), according to NerdWallet.com. What rate you pay on the other $100,000 would depend in part on your income and your tax-filing status.

The bad news about capital gains on real estate is that your $250,000 or $500,000 exclusion typically goes out the window, which means you pay tax on the whole gain, if any of these factors are true:

  • The house wasn’t your principal residence.
  • You owned the property for less than two years in the five-year period before you sold it.
  • You didn’t live in the house for at least two years in the five-year period before you sold it. (People who are disabled, and people in the military, Foreign Service or intelligence community can get a break on this part, though; see IRS Publication 523 for details.)
  • You already claimed the $250,000 or $500,000 exclusion on another home in the two-year period before the sale of this home.
  • You bought the house through a like-kind exchange (basically swapping one investment property for another, also known as a 1031 exchange) in the past five years.
  • You are subject to expatriate tax.

If it turns out that all or part of the money you made on the sale of your house is taxable, you need to figure out what capital gains tax rate applies.

  • Short-term capital gains tax rates typically apply if you owned the asset for less than a year. The rate is equal to your ordinary income tax rate, also known as your tax bracket.
  • Long-term capital gains tax rates typically apply if you owned the asset for more than a year. The rates are much less onerous; many people qualify for a 0% tax rate. Everybody else pays either 15% or 20%. It depends on your filing status and income.

References:

  1. https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/taxes/selling-home-capital-gains-tax

Buying Homes During Covid

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People Rushed to Buy Homes During COVID-19. Now, They Regret It.

The hot real-estate markets across the U.S. led to a number of buyers to purchase homes without performing due diligence

A cardinal rule of home buying is that you shouldn’t rush into a purchase of a home. But in 2020 and now in early 2021, millions of Americans did and are doing just that…rush into purchasing a home, occasionally sight unseen or without a thorough home inspection.

Fleeing small apartments, buying vacation homes or simply looking for a change of scenery amid the crushing boredom of lockdowns, people scrambled to buy houses amid the pandemic, spurring bidding wars and supercharging real-estate markets across the country, according to Candance Taylor*, reporter with the WSJ. Now, many are discovering the pitfalls of these hasty purchases, ranging from buyers’ remorse and financial strain to damage caused by unexpected problems.

At the same time, inventory dropped as many homeowners hesitated to list their properties in the pandemic.  The pandemic has aggravated the housing market’s longstanding lack of supply, creating a historic shortage of homes for sale. The shortage has pushed home prices higher, stretching the budgets of many middle-class and first-time home buyers. The median existing-home price crossed above $300,000 for the first time ever in July, up 8.5% from a year earlier, according to NAR.

The result is that much of the country saw a price spike and bidding wars, brokers said, leaving buyers with little to choose from. In these conditions, many are tempted to waive inspections or skip other due diligence they would normally perform before buying a home.

Over the past two years, the insurance company Chubb has seen large, non-weather-related losses increase in frequency and severity, according to Fran O’Brien, division president of Chubb North America Personal Risk Services. She attributed these losses in part to hasty home purchases: Buyers moving from a small city apartment to a large home in a rural area may not be well versed in how to prevent the pipes from freezing, for example.

“People are moving to places that they don’t know a lot about,” Ms. O’Brien said. “They’re thinking, ‘this looks like a nice place to live’ for amenities it may have. They don’t understand what risk there could be with that home.”

People are even more likely to overlook those risks, she said, when they are in a hurry to snap up a home before someone else does. “You run into this lack of awareness and lack of time, which is not a good combination.”

A HomeAdvisor report found that Americans did an average of 1.2 emergency home repairs in 2020, up from 0.4 in 2019, while emergency home spending jumped to an average of $1,640, up $124 from the 2019 average.

References:

  1. https://www.wsj.com/articles/these-people-rushed-to-buy-homes-during-covid-now-they-regret-it-11613062856
  2. https://www.wsj.com/articles/americans-want-homes-but-there-have-rarely-been-fewer-for-sale-11600680612?mod=article_inline

* Candace Taylor, Real Estate Reporter and Editor at The Wall Street Journal

Capital Gains Taxes on Real Estate

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“For a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.” Winston Churchill

If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay taxes for the capital gains on your home sale if you can’t qualify for an exemption or defer paying taxes through a 1301 Exchange.

Capital gains are the profits you make from the sale of a capital asset, such as a home or stocks, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). When selling your home, the amount of money you pocket after paying off your mortgage and related obligations is considered a capital gain. If you sell your home for less than it’s worth, then it’s considered a capital loss.

Two types of capital gains and losses…short-term and long-term.

  • If you own the asset for less than a year, that profit is taxed as ordinary income or at your normal income tax rate. This is referred to as short-term capital gains.
  • If you own the asset for more than a year. Instead of being taxed at your normal income tax rate, these profits are taxed at the lower tax rate for long-term capital gains.

Capital gains are considered income by the IRS and may be taxed. Short-term capital gains tax rates match standard income tax rates, while long-term capital gains tax rates vary by filing status and income. And, long-term capital gains tax are significantly lower than normal income tax rates.

Capital gains tax exemption

Capital gains of up to $250,000 ($500,000 for joint filers) on the sale of a principal residence may be excluded from gross income every two years.

You can sell your home and not pay capital gains tax based on rules in the 1997 Taxpayer Relief Act which exempted from taxation any capital gains on the sale of a primary residence.

For a capital gains tax exemption, you can exclude up to $250,000 of gain on the sale of your main home. Certain joint returns can exclude up to $500,000 of gain. You must meet all requirements to qualify for a capital gains tax exemption:

  • You must have owned the home for a period of at least two years during the five years ending on the date of the sale.
  • You must have used it as your main home for at least two years during the past five-year period after the sale or exchange.
  • You can’t have used the exclusion for any home sold or exchanged during the two-year period. This period ends on the date of the current sale or exchange.

If you don’t qualify for the full capital gains tax exemption exclusion, you’ll be able to get a reduced exclusion with an exception. There’s an exception if all of these apply:

  • You sold the home due to a change in employment.
  • You didn’t meet the ownership and use tests.

This applies if you started work with a new employer or continue working with the same one in a different place. It also can mean the start or continuation of self-employment.

If the change occurred when you used the home as your main home, this can be considered the reason you sold your home. Your new place of employment must be at least 50 miles farther from your former home than was your former place of employment.

And, if you can exclude all of the gain, you do not need to report the sale on your tax return. If you have gain that cannot be excluded, it is taxable. Report it on Schedule D (Form 1040).

If you own multiple homes, you’re required to pay capital gains taxes on the sale of any home that isn’t your main residence. The act applies to only the dwelling that you consider your primary residence.

“Taxes are your largest single expense.” Robert Kiyosaki

Understanding capital gains exemptions for real estate

You may qualify to either fully or partially exclude the capital gains on your home sale from being taxed. Below, we break down the eligibility requirements for each exemption type.

IRS full exemption

You must meet the IRS eligibility test to be eligible for the full capital gains exemption on your home sale. The eligibility test requires you to meet the following requirements.

  • Ownership. You must have been the owner of the property for at least two of the last five years. If you’re married, only one spouse needs to meet this requirement.
  • Residence. You must have used the home as your primary residence for at least two of the last five years. The residency does not have to be completed consecutively, but both spouses must meet this requirement.
  • Look-back. You must not have used the capital gains tax exemption on another home sale within the past two years.

Borrowers who meet these criteria may take advantage of the maximum exemption allowed by the IRS.

The 1031 Exchange.

One option to avoid paying taxes on capital gains is a “like-kind exchange” per Section 1031 of the tax code. In short version, you can take the proceeds from selling one property and use them to buy similar property, and defer paying the capital gains taxes on the sold property.

A “like-kind” property usually means a property used similarly. For example, you can sell a property used as rental property and use the profits to buy another property to be used as rental property.

There’s a time limit. Within 45 days of selling the original property, you have to “nominate”—identify to the IRS—the new replacement property you’ll be buying. Then, you have to actually buy it within a total of 180 days from when you sold the old property.

A 1031 exchange doesn’t mean you avoid paying taxes on your gains. When and if you ever sell the new property for a profit, you’ll owe capital gains taxes on it.

Once you sell the property, you’ll owe capital gains taxes on the property, unless you do another 1031 exchange, in which case you can keep buying higher-priced properties and keep deferring capital gains taxes indefinitely.

1031 Exchange Rules

If you plan to use a 1031 exchange, understand that there are some pretty strict rules that mus be followed. If you don’t, you won’t get the tax-deferred exchange.

  1. Properties Must Be “Like-Kind”. The IRS requires that the property being sold and the replacement property must be “like-kind assets.” Also, keep in mind that the property must be an investment, not your primary or secondary home.
  2. The Replacement Property Should Be of Equal or Greater Value. In order to completely avoid paying any taxes upon the sale of your investment property, the IRS requires that the replacement property being acquired is of equal or greater in value than the property being relinquished. And, the replacement property price must be greater than the sale price of the relinquished property, not just the profit you made.
  3. 45-Day Identification Window. You must identify the property you plan to close on within 45 days or lose the entire benefit of the 1031 exchange. The timer doesn’t start until the day you sell your property.
  4. The 180-Day Closing Window. The clock for the 45-day window starts ticking the moment the relinquished property is sold. At this same moment, another clock begins counting down. Its known as the 180-day closing window. The IRS requires that the new replacement property be fully purchased (the title officially transferred) within 180 days of the sale of the relinquished property. This rule, along with the 45-day rule, is strictly enforced. Your entire 1031 exchange will fail if you do not meet both rules.
  5. Qualified intermediary. One of the most important rules governing the entire 1031 exchange process is that you must not touch the money of the sold property to avoid the taxes. Although there may be up to 180 days in between the sale of the sold property and the purchase of the replacement property, the proceeds may never enter your bank account or an account controlled by you. Instead, you are required to use a qualified intermediary who is someone who holds onto your money while you wait to buy the new property. A qualified intermediary cannot be you, your agent, your broker, your spouse, your family member, your investment banker, your employee, your business associate, or anyone who has had one of these roles in the past two years.

In summary, a 1031 exchange allows you to “defer” paying any property taxes on the investment property when it is sold, as long as another “like-kind” asset is purchased using the profit received.

References:

  1. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/how-to-avoid-capital-gains-taxes-on-real-estate/ar-BB107jT3#:~:text=You%20could%20partially%20or%20fully%20avoid%20a%20capital,fall%20below%20the%20threshold%20for%20your%20filing%20status.
  2. https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-investing-legally-avoid-capital-gains-taxes
  3. https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/2015-09-24-1031-exchanges-real-estate