With the home buyer tax credit extended and expanded, we can expect that first-time home buyer activity will remain strong, but don’t bank on the same blockbuster numbers we saw this year. If you were a potential first-time home buyer who was qualified to purchase in 2009, odds are pretty solid that you already bought. The fact that the income limits have been raised for Eligibility does help since it widens the credit’s availability.
The $6,500 credit for second-time buyers will spur some sellers in the low-to-mid price ranges to put their homes on the market who had previously been on the fence. New listings will likely
Increase this winter and into early 2010 as a result of this tax credit.
The above data was provided courtesy of the Metropolitan Regional Information System and on face value is pointing toward a strong recovery. However, the November numbers may tell an entirely different story.
With the extension of the first time home buyers tax credit until April, the pressure is off. November numbers will reveal a significant decline compared to the October numbers. The sidelines are quite crowded with buyers waiting for the next what ever.
The inclusion of the move up buyer in the tax credit surely will help motivate the 2010 market. The problem is that whole generations of buyers are missing. This is the group which normally would have been there had their current homes not gone to foreclosure. So the question is who buys the move up buyers existing house! Even President Obama can’t fabricate this group.
I would suggest that until we find this group the recovery is a figment of the governments’ imagination.
The silver lining to this picture is that many great homes will be available to purchase at great value. These values plus the incredible, low interest rates makes this the perfect time for savvy buyers to purchase homes.
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