KC Condo Tracker

I just returned from a family funeral held in Stockton Missouri where I stayed in a vacation cabin no less. Yes, city girl returned to her roots and liked it.

Though the week was incredibly emotional, I still found a few surreal moments to sit on the deck and listen to the crickets late evening and listen to the coyotes howl at the full moon one night. I even walked the nature trails next to the cabins all the way to the dam and held my arms out in the wind to feel that I could still feel.

So while I enjoy the big city and selling lofts and condos in it, I will return to the Cabins at Stockton Lake and encourage you to do the same when you need to get out of your element. Cabins rent for just $80 a night and you can even have one built for you starting at $79,000. Mention this KC blog to get 10% off your visit.

During the first round of the government’s homebuyer tax-credit program, only first-time purchasers could qualify for up to $8,000 in tax credits. But now, many current homeowners could get in on the deal, too.

The House and Senate have passed an extension of the popular homebuyer program that would allow people who have owned their homes for at least five years to buy a new home and get up to $6,500 off their tax bill. Why the switch?

The move is aimed at luring higher-end buyers into the real estate market, says Kevin Cottrell, a principal and cofounder of Kelsey Cottrell Realty in St. Louis. During the initial incentive program, which ends Nov. 30, over 70 percent of the contracts his firm inked were under $300,000, and 90 percent were under $400,000, the lower end of the real-estate spectrum. By extending the credit to current homeowners, the federal government is aiming to move a more upscale segment of the market into “a more normal cycle of buying and selling,” where people might move to a better home every seven or eight years, Mr. Cottrell says. The five-year ownership requirement discourages people from flipping houses the way they did during the real estate bubble.