Yakima housing market slumps after the tax credit - KNDO/KNDU Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA |

Yakima, WASH--To say Yakima realtors were in demand this past April is an understatement.

"We were frantically busy", said Daniel McLaughlin, a broker with The Buyer's Agent.  There was a sense of urgency that I've never seen ">

First time home buyers had $8,000's worth of motivation to get a purchase contract signed by April 30. 

Now two months later, the credit incentive is gone, and local home sales have slowed.  "We've seen a 25-30 percent slowdown", McLaughlin estimated.

He says he's still optimistic though.  He says the Yakima market has always been more stable than the country as a whole.  The way he sees it buyer can use low mortgage interest rates to make up for the expired tax credit.

"If a borrower can save half a percent on their 30-year mortgage after 5 or 6 years they've actually made more than the $8,000 .  So right now it's a great time to be a buyer.">

There's a silver lining for sellers too. All of the buying in April means there are fewer homes on the market.

"The inventories of houses that are for sale went down", says Ricardo Villasenor.  The Aspen Realty Broker told us, "Our inventory is pretty low so for people trying to sell right now it's a good time to list heir home".

there also may be some good news to day for people hoping to get the new home buyer tax credit...but couldn't close escrow by yesterday...

Yesterday Congress voted to extend the first time home buyer tax credit until September 30.  But that only applies to people under contract as of April 30.  

 

via kndo.com

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