Home sales see 75 percent jump in November
Posted On: Thursday, Dec. 17 2009 05:20 AM
By Matt Goodman
Killeen Daily HeraldNovember home sales in the Greater Fort Hood Area surged to a 75 percent increase compared to the same period in 2008, as residents hurried to meet the original deadline of the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit.
The $8,000 federal tax credit was issued to stimulate the ailing home market and would have expired Nov. 30 had Congress not extended it into 2010.
In the Fort Hood area – which includes Copperas Cove, Killeen, Harker Heights and Nolanville – the new home market hit the lowest point of the year in November 2008 when just 147 new homes sold. On average, 238 homes sold each month in 2008.
But this November, the opposite happened; the area saw the most homes sales all year, increasing 75 percent with 258 new homes sold.
"(Congress) waited till the last minute to extend the credit," said Jose Segarra, spokesman for the Fort Hood Area Association of Realtors. "People had already made up their minds to buy before it expires, so there were a lot of people under contract already."
The rush to make the deadline spurred the increase, which also surpassed October's sales by 28 homes. The soaring percentage increase was also aided by the poor market sales in November 2008.
"(2009) is averaging between 200 and 250 sold a month," Segarra said. "But because the numbers for last November were so low, this November looks so high."
The outlook for December and the first quarter of 2010 also looks good, Segarra said. December will also benefit from the last-minute credit rush, he said.
Financing agents are requiring higher credit scores for loans, he said, so buyers will be spending more time on improving their credit in the first quarter of 2010.
"Right now, they're requiring they have to have a 620 credit score or higher," he said. "We've had people who have a 618 score and can't get it … they might have to wait three to five months to get the credit score up to qualify."
The market should also continue to meet its average because of the gradual return of soldiers to Fort Hood, he said.
"I think it's going to be a great first quarter for the year, and hopefully that will carry over for the busy months, which start in the summer," Segarra said.
Contact Matt Goodman at
mgoodman@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7550.