According to the Wall Street Journal, there are indications that home price reductions are stabilizing a bit right now. That’s good news for sellers.
However, before you celebrate too much, this is very likely being driven by the tax incentive that expires in April. When the tax credit goes away, expect price reductions to increase. Price reductions peaked at 26% toward the end of last year, corresponding with the timing of the original November tax-credit deadline.
According to Trulia’s most recent report, the total dollar amount slashed from home prices dropped to $22.6 billion, down from $28.1 billion in November. Of the top 50 major cities, seven had reductions at 30% or higher in February, down from 21 in November.
Jacksonville, Fla. topped the most recent list with 36% of listings seeing reductions with an average price cut of 13%. Milwaukee, Wis, followed with 34% and a 9% average reduction. Next up? Boom-to-bust Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., each with 32%. California – one of the states hardest hit by the downturn – saw some relief: San Jose had just 12% of listings cut, while Oakland had 13%. Wall Street Journal
I’ve been advising clients the last few months that right now may be one of the best windows to get Lake Chelan real estate transactions done for some time to come. If you want to hear more about Lake Chelan real estate, let me know.
