More Money From Washington?

Well, it's beginning to look like Washington is going to extend its current tax credit for first-time home buyers...and expand it to those who have lived in their current home for five years and meet other income requirements. From U.S. News and World Report:

An extension of the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit appears all but certain after the Obama administration called on Congress to give house hunters more time to claim the popular tax perk.

If this goes through, expect the real estate market in Austin to continue its recovery--not that it was ever that bad compared to most of the country. In looking at the latest data from September for residential single-family home sales, it's clear that the market has been recovering since the summer, with the latest figures showing sales outstripping last year's figures and approaching 2007 levels. Neither of those year's was great in September, but the fact that the data is turning upward is a good sign.

My advice if you're looking to buy in Austin: Do it sooner rather than later. As the job market here continues to recover and people continue flocking to Austin, it will almost certainly help put upward pressure on home prices again--not at the rate we saw several years back, but positive nonetheless.