Many first-time homebuyers in North Carolina are taking advantage of falling prices and low interest rates to buy homes of their own. But the greatest enticement for first-time homebuyers is the Obama Administration’s tax savings amounting to $8,000.
The tax credit for first-time homebuyers is the second program of the Obama Administration designed to trim the number of properties on foreclosure list. And as the November 30 expiration of the tax credit program is nearing, industry experts observed a swarm of first-time homebuyers flocking to the market.
There are some efforts to get the Congress to extend the tax credit program but nothing is clear yet.
The tax credit program was created as part of the efforts of the federal government to revive the economy and the housing market. It came up with the idea to give prospective homebuyers money, thus helping repair the market that is blamed for the economic downturn.
Industry experts said that the tax credit program is not expected to help all those who are in need but it hopes to move a significant number of people who would be instrumental on the housing market recovery.
Home sales in the region slowed remarkably in the first six months of this year. According to market data, supplies of unsold properties were good for seven months, an increase from the 90-day supply typical during the peak of the housing market.
Data from the Internal Revenue Service showed that about 1.1 million homebuyers have applied for federal tax credit through amended returns. Industry experts are expecting more first-time homebuyers to take advantage of the program, adding that so far, the tax credit is having a positive effect on regional sales.
Meanwhile, first-time homebuyers are not the only ones grabbing up homes on foreclosure listings. Sales of properties in the low price range were driven by investors who grabbed bargain-priced foreclosures.
Industry experts said that foreclosed homes pressured home prices to drop by 7 percent compared with figures the previous year.
As the number of foreclosure properties continues to rise, prospective first-time homebuyers who are knowledgeable of the market know that this could mean that the average home prices would continue its downward slide.
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