NAHB report: Spring thaw in prices and rates, plus incentives draw homebuyers MortgagePress.comNAHB, home builders, home prices, Joe Robson, statistics
The frozen housing market appears to be thawing as more buyers
are finding the current historically low interest rates,
stabilizing prices and tax credit refund incentives
irresistible.
"Today's market offers an incredible opportunity with the
unprecedented combination of a 40-year low in interest rates,
prices returning to normal levels in many markets, and limited-time
tax incentives," said Joe Robson, chairman of the National
Association of Home Builders and a home builder from Tulsa,
Okla.
The number of homes under contract increased in March, according
to the National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index,
which increased 3.2 percent from February to March.
Optimism about the housing market is on the rise as well, an
April 16 Gallup Poll found that 71 percent of Americans said that
now is a "good time" to buy a house, an 18 point increase from one
year ago and the highest level in four years.
Natasha Smith had been monitoring interest rates and home
prices, but decided to take the plunge when the $8,000 first-time
home buyer tax credit was enacted in February. The 25-year-old
closed on a condominium in the Washington, D.C., suburb of
Hyattsville, Md., in April.
"I wasn't in a rush as I continued to watch prices fall, but
when I heard about the $8,000 tax credit, I knew it was the perfect
time to buy," she said. "Combined with the low home prices and
interest rates, the tax credit was the extra push I needed to get
out of the family home and into a home of my own."
For more information about the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax
credit, which ends on Nov. 30, go to www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com.
For more information, visit www.nahb.com.
