Two interesting articles were released today. The first by the Columbus Board of REALTORS announced that the final four months of 2009 saw number of sales and sale prices increase over the same time in 2008. However, a USA Today article pointed that home prices fell 17% across the nation.
So which is true? Well both.
The USA Today article is looking at the national numbers. And across the nation the number of homes sold fell by 16.7% from the previous month, severly off the 10% slide that had been expected.
Why the fall? Well a couple of reasons include:
- $8,000 Tax Credit. Yes, it has been extended. However there was a bum-rush to get deals closed by November 30 at midnight before congress announced the extension. Some buyers may have “rushed” into a house to make sure they got the tax credit.
- Extension of Tax Credit . When the tax credit moved to April 30, it allowed for the marekt to slow down as buyers focused on “holidays” rather than houses. April and May should be good months again in 2010.
I’m sure there are a littany of other reasons that the markets are down.
However, locally, Columbus is handling the “bubble” fairly well. Yes, we’ve lost value and seen a slide in number of homes sold, an increase in foreclosures, etc. that the rest of the nation has. However, we’ve not seen the extreme speculation in the market that other locations did.
What will this hold for 2010?
If I had the answer to that, I’d be making millions in Las Vegas. Depending on what you look at the market shows signs of growth and other indicators are showing sign of stagnation. Could it go up? Yes. Could it go down? Yes.
However, I think the cautionary words of National Association of REALTORS Chief Economist Lawrence Yun in the US Today article spoke volumes. “Lawrence Yun, the Realtors’ chief economist, cautioned that the recovery will depend on whether the economy starts adding jobs in the second half of the year.”
If the economy begins expanding the work force the housing market will be just fine, until then, well it’ll be like a box of chocolates.
