So What Happens Now in a Post Tax Credit World ?

Recently, we have been enjoying settlement-pack weeks and days with all the deals that went under contract where the buyers qualified for the first time home-buyer tax credit.  It has been an amazing run the first part of this year, but the question now remains what will happen the rest of the year in the Philadelphia Real Estate market as well as nationally ?  And how best to position yourself if you are in the market to buy or sell a home ?

The good news is that it is still the spring market and mortgage rates are at historical lows so there will be that steady demand of purchasers who either did not qualify for the tax credit or for whatever reason, missed it.  The bad news is that so much of the demand was pushed up to the first half of the year.  So now the buyer pool will be much smaller the second half of the year.  So what do you do ?

Buyers - Business as usual.  You have more leverage to get a good purchase price as there is less competition in addition to taking advantage of historically low mortgage rates.

Sellers - Your property MUST stand out amongst the crowd !  Price your property below market value to get your home sold faster as the buyer pool is smaller.  And of course, hire one of the best Internet Marketers in your area as the majority of buyers are finding properties online.

Then there is the national economy with the unemployment rate still hovering around 10 percent and the concerns going on overseas with the debt crisis and the potential fall of the Euro.   Combine that with a potential fall-off of demand raises concerns about the second half of the year, especially the 4th quarter which includes the slower months of November and December.  It is a shame that so much money was spent by the Federal Government on other programs instead of focusing more on housing which is the backbone of our economy.  Even with that, the real estate market in your area will be dependent on local forces and your local economy.  I think we will be walking a tight-rope in Philadelphia, but do believe we will make it out of the woods okay and foresee 2011 being a decent year as the economic recovery continues.

It will be interesting though with all the headwinds and uncertainty.

What are your thoughts ?