The Time is Now! The 2009 Tax Credit is Winding Down. Don't Miss Out On Your $8,000!

If you are a first time home buyer seeking to take advantage of the possible $8,000 Tax Credit, you may want to get serious. It is officially time to make your move. The closing deadline is November 30, 2009. As of the time of this writing (Aug. 25) you have only 65 business days to close your purchase.

Let's take a look at a practical time line from house hunting to final signatures at the closing table...
Day 1 - 10 - Tour homes and find your dream home then write up an offer.
Day 10 - 17 - Negotiate and get final acceptance signatures.
Day 17 - 30 - Conduct inspections, formally apply for your mortgage, obtain an appraisal and make any necessary repairs.
Day 30 - 40 - Re-inspections and underwriter approvals. Obtain clear to close from all parties.
Day 40 - 45 - Do your final walk-thru and close.

The above is an "ideal" situation with an average time frame. The selling or buying of a home is not always ideal. All too often appraisals take longer than expected, an inspection turns up an unknown issue that must be dealt with prior to closing or funds get delayed the day of closing. Be prepared for these kinds of bumps in the road along the way.

Additionally, there are 4 National Holidays between now and November 30! That's right, we have Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving to look forward to. You may want to consider this in your personal time frame to be safe. A proactive plan is necessary at this point. Also take into consideration that Wednesday, November 25th could be a 1/2 day for Banks and Title Companies, Thursday is Thanksgiving, Friday is an unofficial holiday making closings unreliable and Monday the 30th is the deadline which makes closing on that day a dangerous gamble. So, if you must wait until November to close - make it early in the month, you'll be glad you did!

Pending Home Sales on the Rise Again!

Pending home sales are up for the fifth month in a row, nationally. This information is courtesy of a News Release by the National Association of REALTORS(R) on August 4. This statement is a result of the analysis of pending sales in June 2009 vs. June 2008. During this time period, the number of purchase agreements signed is up by 6.7%. This increase is again attributed to the $8,000 tax credit available to first time home buyers and to the availability of affordable housing.
To read the entire report please click here.

On a more local note, the under $100,000 market is selling strong in the Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, Washtenaw and parts of Wayne Counties (minus the City of Detroit and Gross Pointe areas). The median sales price in these areas (with the exception of Oakland county) continues to plummet, enabling the sell-off of these homes. This sector of the market continues to dominate the closed sales transactions with huge increases over this time last year. These same areas in the over $100,000 market are showing a decrease in the number of closed transactions over last July. Conversely, across the board there is a decrease in the number of homes for sale. The age old theory of supply and demand plays a major part in this market, these trends mark a small step in the direction of recovery.
To view the latest stats please click here.