August numbers are looking MUCH better for the DC area real estate market. Especially in Virginia. I'll take any good news we can get at this point. I still caution that when the temporary programs to stimulate the housing market end we could see a reversal of fortune. Sales were 15% higher and more importantly the inventory was 24% lower after the August numbers were released. 67 days was the average market time needed to sell a home in the close in VA counties as opposed to 113 in the corresponding suburban MD counties. Only Montgomery and Howard were under 100 days. The inventory of unsold homes on the market are the smallest since February of 2007.August sales rose 15% from last year but a whopping 55% from August 2007. Again though please remember that we have programs in place for 8,000 tax credits for first time homebuyers, temporary loan limits up to $729,750 and programs that allow underwater homeowners to refinance into low fixed rates as low right now as 5%. The only one of these programs that has even been possibly extended is the first time home buyer tax credit.
On Wednesday afternoon, Senator Ben Cardin introduced S. 1678, extending the $8,000 first time homebuyer tax credit for another 6 months to June 1, 2010. The current tax credit is set to expire on December 1, 2009. The bill has 4 co-sponsors: Ensign, Reid, Isakson, and Stabenow. You can read the bill and track its progress by clicking here. To learn more about the tax credit, visit http://www.fixhousingfirst.com/
According to figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department on September 17, production of new single-family homes slowed in August as the expiration date for the buyer incentive drew nearer. While overall housing starts rose 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 598,000 units for the month, single-family starts declined 3 percent in August to a rate of 479,000 units, ending what had been a five-month run of improvements.
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