CALIFORNIA REALTORS® Sponsor Targeted Tax Credit for First-Time, Low- and Moderate-Income Home buyers in Disadvantaged Communities

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Apr 22, 2019, 12:01 ET

SACRAMENTO, April 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) today announced its sponsorship of legislation intended to help first-time, low- and moderate-income home buyers in disadvantaged communities. AB 1590, authored by Asm. Blanca Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), would create a targeted tax credit to help working families achieve their goal of homeownership and is especially timely, given the tight housing market.

"REALTORS^® are sponsoring AB 1590 to help make the dream of homeownership a reality for low- and moderate-income Californians in disadvantaged communities," C.A.R. President Jared Martin said. "Asm. Rubio's bill specifically targets regions of the state that will benefit most from increasing the homeownership rate and is an important part of California's overall fight to beat the housing affordability crisis."

AB 1590 allocates $50 million to provide a tax credit to first-time homebuyers who meet specific criteria including:

Must have never owned a home previously;
Earn 120 percent or less of area median income; and
Purchase a home in a state-designated disadvantaged community.

Current law identifies disadvantaged communities as areas with, among other things, concentrations of low-income individuals and families facing high housing costs. Qualified first-time home buyers who purchase a home between January 1, 2020, and January 1, 2023, will receive a tax credit of up to $5,000. The tax credit will help these first-time homebuyers cover unanticipated costs associated with homeownership.

"AB 1590's targeted tax credit helps Californians who need it most," Martin said. "It creates a pathway to homeownership for people who are currently priced out of the market. It gives working families an opportunity to build wealth and can lift entire communities across the state."

AB 1590 will first be heard in the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee on April 29. C.A.R. looks forward to working with state lawmakers on advancing this and other legislation that protects and expands homeownership in California.

Leading the way…^® in California real estate for more than 110 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States with more than 200,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.

SOURCE CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS