Real Estate Market Projections Optimistic for 2010
According to a recent survey by Move.com, 5%, or 1 in 20, Americans plan to buy a home within the next year. They are most likely to be 34 or younger and living in the South or West. About 25% of these think prices have bottomed.
Recent housing figures and homebuilder earnings support a stabilizing housing market, and concerns about the expiration of federal homebuyer tax credit are moot after Congress last week extended and expanded the credit.
Buyers who have owned in their current homes for at least five years are eligible for tax credits of up to $6,500, while first-time homebuyers -- or anyone who hasn't owned a home in the last three years -- would still get up to $8,000. To qualify, buyers have to sign a purchase agreement by April 30, 2010, and close by June 30.
The telephone poll, which included about two-thirds homeowners and one-third renters, was conducted in October by market research firm GfK. Read more at NewsGeni.us.