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Spring Price/Rate Thaw, Tax Credit Draw Homes Buyers
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 NAHB Chairman Joe Robson.
The number of homes under contract increased in March, according to the National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index, which increased 3.2% from February to March.
Optimism about the housing market is on the rise as well. An April 16 Gallup Poll found that 71% of Americans said that now is a "good time" to buy a house, an 18 point increase from one year earlier 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.
 Tax Credit Web Site Looks at Opportunity of a Lifetime
Builders and other industry professionals can help spur home sales by referring prospective first-time home buyers to www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com. The NAHB Web site provides detailed information on the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers included in the economic stimulus legislation signed into law by President Obama.
Consumers can use the Web site to find information on the tax credit — including a detailed question and answer section. It also includes information about other housing-related and small business measures in the legislation and a number of home-buying resources for consumers.
Spanish Version Also Online
A Spanish version of this increasingly popular Web site is also available to provide detailed information on the tax credit to Spanish-speaking first-time home buyers.
Industry professionals are encouraged to highlight either tax credit Web site when marketing to their potential first-time home buyer market.
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