Tampa realtyAccording to many sources, Tampa realty and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) based out of Chicago, August home sales decreased after they had been growing stronger over the prior four months, a sure sign the housing recovery has yet to hit its stride.

One thing that was helpful to this year’s overall new and existing home sales was the first time homebuyer’s tax credit incentive offered by the government as a stimulus package to those who had not purchased a new or existing home for the past three years. 

The NAR conservatively estimates that so far in 2009 approximately 200,000 additional home sales can be attributed to The American Recovery and Reinvestment act (ARRA) tax credit. This is an $8,000 tax credit to new homebuyers and as recently as the end of October, the U.S. Senate decided to vote in favor of renewing and extending the new homebuyers tax credit until June 2010.  In addition the Senate added a tax break for existing homeowners who have been in their homes for more than five years who wish to purchase a new home; they will receive up to $6,500 in tax credits.

In the four months previous to August 2009, sales of existing homes increased by 15 percent and then took a nosedive by dropping 2.7 percent in August.  Tampa property for sale, along with property for sale in other areas of the country, was slow to start as new construction gained a modest improvement of new homes constructed and sold this past year.  New home construction has not produced an inventory of unsellable inventory of homes as the inventory of new homes on the market continued to decline from a peak of 572,000 in July of 2006 down to 261,000 in August of this year.

The economy plays a major role in what individuals and families who want to purchase a new home can and cannot do when it comes time to sign on the dotted line of a mortgage loan and how they will be able to make their mortgage payments.  Although interest rates have declined and more banks are interested in making fixed rate mortgage loans, the problem is the unemployment rate is still skyrocketing which has been weakening the economy as fast as the housing market problem.