Home sales pick up in area Posted On: Sunday, Nov. 1 2009 05:02 AM By Matt Goodman
Killeen Daily Herald

For the first time this year, more Fort Hood-area homes were sold in back-to-back months in 2009 than in 2008. In August of 2009, 245 homes were sold compared to 228 in 2008. And in September of this year, 215 were sold compared to 186 last September.

"People think it's a great time to buy," said Jose Segarra, Fort Hood Area Association of Realtors spokesman. "They're getting great prices, so they're going out and buying."

According to its Web site, the Fort Hood-area encompasses Killeen, Harker Heights, Copperas Cove and Nolanville. The market here hit its lowest point in January; just 138 homes were sold.

But shortly after President Barack Obama announced the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, the market began to steadily increase. Each month in 2009 closed with more homes sold than the month before it until September, in which 30 fewer houses were sold than in August.

"I hear an awful lot of buyers talking about the homebuyer credit," said Rodney Shine, operations manager at Shine Team Realtors in Harker Heights. "There's a big push for close by Nov. 30 to achieve the credit."

Because the deal must be complete by Nov. 30, Shine said buyers should aim to have the home under contract by Nov. 10 to ensure that they receive the credit.

"Not wanting to miss an opportunity to buy a very nice house coupled with the first-time homebuyer credit probably created some excitement in the market that hasn't been there," Segarra said.

In 2009 so far, the average home is selling for about $4,000 less than it was last year: $123,864 compared to $127,407. But officials expect the honeymoon to calm and the market become more driven by troop movements, as it normally is. Shine said the 1st Cavalry Division will begin returning in December and the market should begin seeing its effects by February.

"They're not going to immediately look for homes, they're going to visit families," Shine said. "I don't look for it to cause a spike in property values but I look at it to prevent a drop."

By September 2008, 409 more houses had sold compared to 2009 year-to-date. But the final quarter of last year was when the Fort Hood-area began to feel the effects of a collapsing market, posting the smallest amount of homes sold in that year.

Should 2009 continue its upswing, officials are confident that the market will set a pattern of similar sales going into 2010.

"As far as everything going on in the market, we're not tremendously off in our numbers," Segarra said. "We're seeing more and more people in crunch time trying to lock that (tax credit) in so that they can take advantage of the $8,000."

Contact Matt Goodman at mgoodman@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7550.