More homes hitting the market as tax credit deadline nears
Here's more evidence that sellers are scrambling to unload homes as April 30th approaches.
If you are coming late to this, that's the day the real estate market falls off the edge of the earth, never to be heard from again.
Just kidding, but seriously, that's when the $18 billion home buyer tax credit goes poof, likely taking with it a lot of the demand we are seeing right now.
Nearly 4,000 more homes hit the market in towns across Massachusetts in March, pushing total inventory up by about 12 percent, ZipRealty reports, citing MLS numbers.
Basically, it's a jump of 3,882, up to 34,152.
Now the number comes with some caveats - ZipRealty looked at the areas it covers in the state, which, while extensive, is not completely comprehensive.
Other numbers, though, are pointing in the same direction.
This weekend, we are also likely to see what could be the largest number of open houses across the state in years.
The Massachusetts Association of Realtors is taking part in a nationwide open house extravaganza that should see as many as 9,600 open houses held across the Bay State, estimates Eric Berman, MAR's spokesman.(An earlier version had a lower, incorrect number - my apologies.)
I asked for comparative figures for open houses held during a typical weekend when I talked with Berman late yesterday afternoon, but he did not have much on hand, though it clearly seems to be a significant jump.
So who's rushing to sell before the deadline?
The biggest jump in homes for sale has been on the lower price end, $300,000 and below, especially in the Worcester area east out to Framingham, according to ZipRealty's Nancy Atwood, designated broker for Massachusetts. There's also a spike in less expensive listings in urban areas, such as Dorchester and Jamaica Plain, as well, she said.
Bascially, starter homes that are in demand among first-time buyers, rushing to get that $8,000 credit before April 30th.
"I think people who have been thinking about selling their house for some time definitely want to try it now," Atwood told me.
Better hurry though - only three more weeks to hook a tax credit buyer.
