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| Back-to-back monthly gains posted for home permits |
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| News - Business | |||
| Written by Press Release | |||
| Monday, 26 October 2009 12:53 | |||
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Local new-home permit activity turned in its best performance in nearly a year in September, posting back-to-back monthly gains for the second time this year and improving 6 percent from August.
According to statistics compiled by the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City, a seasonally adjusted total of 207 single-family homes were permitted the metro area in September, the first time since October 2008 the local housing market eclipsed the 200-unit barrier for seasonally adjusted permits. Combined with this month’s report from the Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors showing a dwindling new-home inventory and existing-home prices on the rebound, there is optimism that the housing market is moving in the right direction. New-home listings dropped by 146 units last month to below 2,200 listings, while existing-home prices were up 5 percent from the same month a year ago. The concern of housing industry experts, however, is that the improving housing picture is largely due to the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit. The credit expires Tuesday, Dec. 1, and local homebuilders have led a push to extend the credit until Nov. 30, 2010 and expand the credit to all homebuyers. “The first-time homebuyer tax credit has been key to stabilizing home values for all homeowners while sustaining the construction job market,” said local home builder and HBA president Brad True. “We need to keep that momentum going and open up home-buying opportunities for more consumers.” True said extending the credit until next year and expanding the credit to all homebuyers would boost the overall economy by shoring up housing values and improving homeownership opportunities. He said tighter credit restrictions and changes in real estate appraisals have limited the choices for consumers and artificially deflated housing values even further. The National Association of Home Builders estimates that extending and enhancing the homebuyer tax credit would generate 383,000 home purchases nationwide and create 350,000 jobs in the coming year. “Extending and enhancing the homebuyer tax credit is vital to opening up homebuyer opportunities for consumers while boosting the overall economy,” True said. “The tax credit has proven it can stabilize home values and put people back to work building new homes.”
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