5 myths about home sweet homeownership

Old but good -- ``Just because you got an $8,000 tax credit toward the purchase of a home doesn't mean that you actually saved $8,000. In areas where there is strong demand for housing and the supply of new housing is limited -- including the Washington metro region -- tax credits may result in the bidding up of home prices. In other words, the program has probably led to higher prices in these areas than we would be seeing without it. This means that some of the benefit of the tax credit is being passed on from homebuyers to home sellers. ''