The snow has started to fall in Duluth, Minnesota located on the north shore of Lake Superior, which would usually indicate the slowing of home sales for the winter months. This year is different because local real estate agents are trying to close on mortgages for first-time home buyers receiving the $8,000 federal tax credit before it expires on November 30th of this year.
The first-time home buyer federal tax credit has helped the areas housing market tremendously even though these numbers fail to show up on recent home sales reports. The current numbers state that sales for the area were down 11.6 percent in August when compared to August of 2008. The numbers from January to August report sales down 4 percent for the same period a year earlier. However, sales were up 9 percent for homes in the price range of $150,000 and under.
Duluth, unlike other areas in the nation, has somehow avoided the housing bubble. The area never had the huge boom that other housing markets across the nation had. The housing market in Duluth has always been steadily growing at a slow pace. Because of this, housing was not bought up at a rapid pace during the boom years and the area has not been hit with the flood of empty houses as a result of the housing market hitting bottom.
As mentioned a lot of real estate markets across the country that has been affected by the market crash. The government has helped sales tremendously by not only implementing the tax credit but also extending it till the end of April. I believe that the tax credit has helped to jump start the economy and get things going again. The tax credit extension has given the community in the area a lot of hope that they can start buying again instead of keeping the money under the mattress.
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