Housing is down, we all know that. But did you know that we had one of our best Augusts ever? Why don’t we make a bigger deal out of that? Economists are looking to 2009 housing market to stabilize. In depth Metro DC Housing Trends 3rd Q 2008 Report is here for you to review. This report has been put together by MRIS and Delta Group.
There was a definite surge in business during the month of August 2008. This is really curious to me because I have, over my career, noticed a down turn in my market during August. Seems most folks are out of town before the kids go back to school, getting the kids ready for school and so on.
However, in this struggling market August was the fairy princess month of the year so far for 2008. August sales were up over 7% in our market. We have looked at different factors as to what may have contributed to this, but I don’t think that there is one factor we can point to. One of the biggest factors, I think, is the end of the Nehemiah and Ameridream loan programs. These were the last of the 100% style loans. Actually, they are 97% FHA loans and the seller was able to gift the down payment to the purchaser. These loans were scheduled to be terminated at the end of September. Purchasers that were using this type of financing had to complete their transaction by September 30th 2008.
Also, this was before the stock market and the bailout package were the daily news headlines. Since the bailout and stock market have been all the news, the market slowed down. However, since the election, for me personally as an agent, I have been very busy. Many new buyers out shopping for homes. My buyers know that if they want to purchase, now is the time. It is a buyer’s market and the interest rates are still very low.
You may review the report and think all is not so great. I will tell you it is great if you are a buyer with some savings, good credit and a plan to stay in your home for 5 years or more. It has been proven time and time again that long term Real Estate is one of the most sound investments you can make.