Phew! What a crazy time to work in Real Estate. The First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit ended April 30th. If buyers met all requirements, they had to be “under contract” on a house by 4/30 they have to close by June 30th.
The goal was to spur the housing market and get more home sold….so…did it work?
THE GOOD
In the short term, YES it worked!! 
Check out the numbers from the chart to the left. Under Contract homes in the Denver metro area are up 24% from a year ago. April was absolutely bananas with buyers clamoring to get a home under contract to claim their 8k.
If you were one of the buyers trying for the credit, I don’t have to tell you about the multiple offers and bidding wars that took place. If you were not in the market for a home last month, let me just tell you it was very competitive and prices are going up because buyers were bidding higher to get the home the wanted. That is GOOD NEWS for homeowners….keep an eye out for some better looking sold prices in your neighborhood in few months once the May and June Sold statistics are available. Some highlights from April are:
– DAYS ON MARKET is down 22% from a year ago
– AVERAGE SOLD PRICE UP 7.3% FROM LAST YEAR!!!!
THE BAD
Could it be a false positive for our market. We will see. Yes, more people bought due to the credit and more sellers were able to sell, but the true effects will not be known for some time.Let’s hope that 2010 keeps chugging like it has so far and home prices continue to rise. As long as interest rates stay low we should be poised for an even better 2011.
If you have any questions about the market or your specific situation please give me a shout. All my contact info is at the top right of this webpage.
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