Will the Market Come to a Screeching Halt on November 30th ?
By Cindy Jones on October 11th, 2009It is interesting to see article after article suggesting that the end of the tax credit will be the end of the warming real estate market in Northern Virginia.
Since the winter is normally the slow time for home sales, the fact that the tax credit ends at the same time seems to be suggesting a cause and effect that may not exist.
Certainly the tax credit has helped some buyers to move forward on a home purchases over the last few months but was it the primary reason for a first time buyer to put pen to paper?
How about prices that are back to a point where more buyers qualify for a loan?
What about interest rates that are at “historic lows?”
What about sellers who are willing to assist buyers with closing costs helping them keep money in their pockets?
Not everyone buying a home in Northern Virginia is a first time buyer. There are plenty of buyers across the market who don’t qualify for the $8000 tax credit who are buying homes.
It is to bad that the end of the credit is coming just before the holiday season. I can see the headlines now calling December and January the “darkest months for home sales in Northern Virginia history” or something similiar.
Lets see what happens in Q2 2010 if there isn’t another new incentive in place before we say that the tax credit was the only reason we had an upswing in home sales in 2009.
[...] Will the Market Come to a Screeching Halt on November 30th? VA Real Estate Talk, explores some interesting questions about the end of the $8,000 tax credit. Will the upcoming cold winter months also freeze the real estate market? [...]
The tax credit has added to the excitement, and provided a happy positive to talk about. Buyer behavior is motivated by so many factors… and the tax credit really helped fuel the fires… a little like cash for clunkers!
Most of my buyers have not been eligible for the tax credit and yet they are buying properties of all values.
I’d like to see some solid statistics that show what the percentage of 1st time buyers eligible for the tax credit is comparied to the rest of the sales in our current market.