You are a first time buyer who has a sore butt. Why? Because you have been sitting on the fence all year long.
Could you be the smartest first time homebuyer out there?
Consider what happened when CASH for CLUNKERS overheated the demand for cars (just like the FIRST TIME HOME BUYER TAX CREDIT overheated demand for entry level houses).
Before Cash for Clunkers, dealers had huge rebates on cars. They were willing to discount the cars by several thousand dollars just to get someone, ANYONE, onto that empty showroom floor.
The car market was in the toilet and cars were dirt cheap.
Along comes a $4500 handout from Washington to manipulate stimulate car buyers.
And that's when things started to get twisted.
- Rebates disappeared almost overnight.
- Dealers were no longer willing to discount the cars.
- As supply shrunk, a frenzy of buyers lost their heads, bought anything on the lot, and paid over sticker for the car...just to get their clunker cash.
- The real price of buying a car went up.
Is the real estate market a little twisted right now? What do you think?
- Agents everywhere talk about extreme lack of inventory for entry level houses.
- Multiple offers are the norm for lower priced properties.
- Across the country, stories about prices going up and the market turning around (even though it is well accepted that there is a foreclosure wave right around the corner).
So you. Yes you, the one with the sore butt. Keep sitting and watch what happens.
You could get a much better price on a house by letting the first time homebuyer tax credit JUST DIE while you continue to JUST SIT on that fence.
Picture this: Its a rainy cold day in December and everyone else is focused on the holidays. But not you. You're finally off the fence, you sly fox you, and the world is your oyster.
You can take advantage of all this:
- Sellers are desperate.
- The competition has disappeared.
- Prices drop.
- You have no pressure to buy and can be choosy about properties
If you save $20,000 on your house, do you care if you sacrifice an $8000 tax credit?
Probably not. (But don't expect anyone in the real estate industry to talk about this until AFTER the rebate ends).
Written by Janet Guilbault, Mortgage Banker/Broker Based Out of the San Francisco Bay Area
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