First-time Home Buyers Give New Life to the Housing Market- Charlotte NC Real Estate Expert

The first time home-buyers tax credit has definitely had an impact on home sales, bringing entry-level home buyers into the market. According to New York (CNNMoney.com), an industry report was released last Friday clearly indicated that half of all home sales are now being made by first-time home buyers. The first-time home buyers tax credit has helped to boost sales by giving first-timers up to $8000, which they could deduct from their taxes.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in a press released issued on November 13th,  47% of all Americans who purchased homes in 2009 had not owned a home in the last three years. The tax credit is has had a major impact on home sales and even if home buyers pay less than $8000 in tax credits they still get the full amount back. With the April 30th, 2010  With the  April 30, 2010 tax credit extension, we should see this trend rising in the coming year.

According to Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR, “The credit is working better than first projected — it now looks like we’ll have 2.3 to 2.4 million first-time buyers this year. With expansion of the tax credit to additional buyers through the middle of next year, and no major unforeseen events impacting the economy, home prices should rise between 3% and 5% in 2010.”

Compared to 2008, the NAR forecast predicts that existing homes will total over 5 million by the close of 2009. This is a 2% increase from the previous year. The forecast for 2010 is a gain of 13.6% to 5.69 million units, which will reduce inventory and boost home prices.  

New Home Sales

The NAR also predicts that new home sales will total a meager $397,000 by the end of this year, rising to $549,000 in 2010. During the housing heyday, new home sales were more than 1.35 million in 2005.  Nowadays, very few new homes are being built, which boils down to less inventory and less new home sales. According to Yun, “We’ve seen a steady downtrend in housing inventory for well over a year.”

Reduced Home Values adding Fuel to the Foreclosure Crisis

Falling home values has been a major contributor behind the foreclosure crisis that exists across the nation. When home values are significantly reduced, homeowners are less likely to continue making their monthly mortgage payments. If there is no home equity to tap into if they should fall behind on their mortgage or run into unexpected financial problems such as unemployment,  it often makes better financial sense to give up and simply walk away.

For more information on foreclosures, please read the following articles:

• Loan Modification in Lieu of Foreclosure – Charlotte North Carolina
• Foreclosure Process & Time-line Charlotte North Carolina
• Buying Foreclosure Properties in Charlotte NC
• Beware of Foreclosure Scams – Charlotte North Carolina

Real Estate Homes For Sale Charlotte North Carolina

If you are a first-time home buyer, now has never been a bet time to take advantage of the $8000 tax credit. And if you are looking to buy a home in Charlotte, NC, contact Leigh Brown.  Leigh is a certified EcoBroker® , foreclosure specialist and seasoned real estate expert serving the Charlotte Metro area.