Real Estate Agents Push Back Against Proposed Increase in Recordation Tax

Real Estate Agents Push Back Against Proposed Increase in Recordation Tax:

...Local real estate agents who spoke during a council public hearing on the proposal said it would hurt first-time home buyers in the market and may have a negative effect on the overall real estate market.
Peg Mancuso, the president of the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors, which represents about 10,000 Realtors in the region, said while she supports increased spending on schools, Floreen’s measure would hurt a segment of the population the county is trying to woo—young people buying their first homes.
“We do not believe overburdening those who make long-term investments in the county is either just or prudent,” Mancuso said. “There must be a better way, let’s work together.”
Under the proposal the base rate of the recordation tax—$2.20 per every $500 on the sale price of a home—would stay the same, but the school increment portion of the tax would rise from $1.25 per $500 of the sale price to $2 per $500 of the price. The recordation tax premium, which is only applied to homes sold for more than $500,000 would increase from $1.55 per $500 to $2.30 per $500. For example, a house sold for $600,000 would pay about $1,000 more in recordation taxes under the increase.
Mancuso was one of several real estate agents who spoke against the increase at the hearing.
"We can not afford to add any more barriers to home ownership," Susann Haskins, of Long and Foster Real Estate, said. She noted that buyers face 19 itemized charges they must pay at closing in the county and this will only increase those costs...