OCTOBER 22, 2009 ISSUE
REALTORS: Local Real Estate Sales Slow, But Steady
The High Country Association of Realtors released statistics last week for residential homes sold through the end of September. Sales, while sluggish, did reach beyond the 100-unit-sold mark for August and September for the first time this year.
Sales are still below last year’s figures. When comparing year-to-date numbers with the same time period in 2008, the number of residential units sold is down 17.4 percent from the same time last year, and the median sold price for residential property is down 14.6 percent. The average number of days a residential unit is on the market has decreased by 3 percent, and the number of new listings has dropped by 6.5 percent.
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 5.06 in September, down from 5.19 percent in August; the rate was 6.04 percent in September 2008.
The $8,000 first-time homebuyers tax credit continues to make an impact, but time is running out. The tax credit will expire on Monday, November 30, so prospective purchasers need to act quickly to ensure they will qualify for the credit. To receive it, purchasers must actually close the transaction before Tuesday, December 1.
According to the National Association of Realtors, young people are starting to invest and buy their first homes. First-time homebuyers, most between the ages of 25 and 45, accounted for about 45 percent of home sales from January through July.
U.S. House Ways and Means Chair Rangel (D-NY) has introduced legislation that would extend the benefit of the credit through 2010, but has limited eligibility for that extension to a limited group of potential purchasers. His bill (H.R. 3590) would make the credit available to individuals who have served in the military, Foreign Service or in the U.S. intelligence community outside the U.S. for 90 days or more during 2009. They must also be first-time purchasers.
In the Senate, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) has sponsored S. 1678. It offers a straight extension of the credit for six months. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is a cosponsor, as is Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA), an early advocate for a tax credit. The Senate does not yet have a strategy for moving that bill, as all revenue measures must originate in the House.
For more information about the tax credit for first-time homebuyers, click to www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=205416,00.html.
For more information about the High County Association of Realtors, click to www.highcountryrealtors.org. The association is composed of members in Watauga and Avery counties and the surrounding area who maintain a marketplace where buyers and sellers can safely transfer property under the guidance of a professional held to standards of excellence.
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