Real Estate Market Makes a Comeback

Great news out today – as the National Association of Realtors reports December 2009 the fifth-highest volume residential home sales month in two years. December’s national totals increased 10.9% over December 2009.

This data certainly points to a trend of improvement. While some may point out that those numbers are skewed due to the massive response to the Federal First Time Home Buyer credit, I say “So what?”

In what has recently been an oversaturated market, homes are finally being sold. With the first-time buyer and move-up credits – everyone wins! Sellers in distress are finally being able to get out of trouble, and sellers in better situations are able to move up to larger homes in a “deal-rich environment”. First-time buyers are finding homes at deep discounts, and enjoying a big financial bonus to do so.

One of the greatest benefits of rising sales will be firming home prices. “For several months now we’ve been seeing stabilization in all of the home price measures as inventory is pulled down,” Says Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors. “As a result, the housing wealth for many middle class families has begun to stabilize.”

Yun projects the extended and expanded tax credit will encourage 2.4 million households to take the credit in 2010. “While new-home sales will remain low due to a lack of construction, existing-home sales are projected to rise to around 5.6 million in 2010,” Yun said. Last year there were 5.16 million existing-home sales.

There’s still time to make the deadline – but you must act fast! Buyers who have a contract in place to purchase a primary residence by April 30, 2010, have until June 30, 2010, to finalize the transaction to qualify for a tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time buyers and $6,500 for repeat buyers.

Although the tax credit has been extended and expanded in the past – there’s no guarantee it will happen again. After all, all good things must eventually come to an end.

Contact me for more information on how you can cash in on this credit before it’s gone.