I was interviewed by CBS 11 last week as part of a story on the recent decline in the real estate market. While part of it is cyclical, I believe that some of it is a rebound effect from the Federal Tax Credit which ended in April 2010. The tax credit created a lot of activity but I argue most of it was accelerated buying rather than new buyers entering the market. I dubbed it, “Cash for Clunkers Comes to the Housing Market.”
For the past couple of weeks, there has been an increase in website hits and inquiries, but it had yet to translate into showings. After several weeks of little showing activity and despite temperatures over 100 degrees, we finally started to see some life come back into the local real estate market.
With interest rates at historical lows this may be the best time to purchase a home as either a primary residence or as an income producing investment. The “perfect storm” of low prices and low interest rates will not last forever any more than the crazy run-up in prices and lax mortgage lending practices that took us here.
Photo Credit – Tom Branch
