According to the November, 2009 RCI (Realtors’ Confidence Index), 30% of buyers purchased a property with an FHA loan. “FHA helps provide affordable mortgage financing to homeowners, particularly first-time home buyers, reported Vicki Cox Golder, President of the National Association of Realtors. An FHA loan allows homebuyers to purchase a home with just a 3.5% down payment.

The RCI Survey also reported that the number of first-time homebuyers climbed to 51% as these buyers continued to take advantage of the $8000 federal tax credit available through the spring.

The survey said that distressed home sales increased to 33% of the total monthly sales. Both investors and first-time homebuyers are competing for these distressed properties. Because there are so many distressed properties on the market, buyers’ perception of other properties have changed. Buyers look at every property, whether it is distressed or not, as if it is a short ssale or a foreclosure.

In addition, realtors expressed ongoing concern with the impact of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct on recent appraissals. Realtors say that often out-of-area appraisers tend to rely on the sales prices of distressed properties and are not taking into account all of the comps in a neighborhood. Appraisers need to look at all available comps.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 26th, 2009 at 8:07 pm and is filed under My Real Estate Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.