Mortgage Industry and Predatory Lending
The extension of the credit should inject some sales into the winter market. Remember - October-March are the slowest sales months of the year for real estate - people like to move while school’s out and the weather’s good and this is the case for Augusta Real Estate as well.
The bottom line is that nationally, 1st Time Homebuyers accounted for only 36% of sales in 2006, see more at Augusta Listing Expert and by some accounts they now account for almost 50% of all sales. It has provided a good “bump” for sales, but it is far from the cure.
The housing crisis has its roots in the mortgage industry and predatory lending. One required nothing more than a pulse to obtain a mortgage, and astounding products where rolled out to enable people to afford five times the home they should actually purchase. Adjustable Rate Mortgages, Alt-A products, and sub-prime loans all caused what we’re now going through - not the lack of a “credit” for buying a home. There is a natural order to things - we over-built, over-bought, over-spent, and over-borrowed. Now we’re spending less, borrowing less, and only buying essentials. Deplete the existing inventory through qualified buyers, and the market adjusts - back to another “Sellers Market.” Visit www.augustalistingexpert.com for more information about the market.
Artificially inflating the market with a gallon of tax credit may help in the short run, but it is not the natural order of things. My milk has an expiration date, I’m glad the tax credit does too.
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