I've worked with more than a dozen "first timers' this year and not one of them brought up the $8000 Tax Credit as a reason that they are in the market! Not a single one!
This is not really surprising if you think about it. Just because we, as real estate professionals, see this as an opportunity, doesn't mean it is making the TOP THREE or even TOP TEN reasons these folks are buying. (Just because MY RSS feeds stream real estate related info 24/7 doesn't mean anyone else's do...)
The top reasons my first time buyers are buying:
- They have a new job or a new life and want to live in a house!
- They recognize that home prices and interest rates are lower than they have ever seen before.
- They can look at homes in towns and neighborhoods that previously were not affordable for them.
The top reasons my non-first time buyers are buying:
- They have a new job or a new life and need to move!
- They recognize that home prices and interest rates are lower than they have ever seen before and they want to take advantage of that and move UP!
- They can look at homes in towns and neighborhoods that previously were not affordable for them so they want to sell and move UP!
The ONLY thing new in these lists are #2 and #3. Period.
But I'll tell you what the Tax Credit does do!
It makes me look really good when I suggest, while they are basking in the glow of an accepted contract, that they might like to consider ammending their 2008 tax return in order to get some money back from the government! You'd think I had just put a cherry on top of their milkshake!
It's Simple...When You Have A Great Agent!
SarahGray Lamm is a licensed, full time, residential real estate professional in the Raleigh Durham area of North Carolina with over 60,000 hours of experience. She specializes in serving the real estate needs of home sellers, home buyers and investors in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham and Northern Chatham County and is proudly associated with Allen Tate Realtors, the Carolinas #1 independent realty company.
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