As a follow-up to our last post on the federal tax credit for homebuyers, I thought this might be interesting.
What do you think abut the federal government’s support for home buyers in today’s troubled economy? In a recent survey of US households conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), approximately 68% of those polled are in favor of the government’s efforts and 65% believe more should be done to prevent foreclosures.
The poll was based on 1,000 telephone interviews conducted during the last week of January 2010.
Regarding the tax credit for first time and move-up home buyers, 8% of those surveyed said they intend to take advantage of this credit, while another 24% responded they might have been interested in using the tax credit but could not afford to purchase a home at this time.
Of the 33% of respondents who said they are planning to buy a home (both renters and current home owners) approximately 17% said they intend to use the tax credit.
The study also revealed some interesting findings about homeowners attitudes in general, especially as it concerns their own home. 7% feel trapped by a mortgage that exceeds the value of their current home, 14% fear that the value of a new home might fall after they make a purchase, and 13% responded that home prices are still too high to allow them to buy a new home at this time. Honestly, I expected these numbers to be higher, given the overall level of fear that continues in the economy.
Even given these attitudes about the housing market, 40% of respondents said their home is their most valuable investment, twice the number who cite any other single investment, such as 401k accounts, savings accounts, mutual funds, etc, as their most important family investment.
Posted by: Michael Sosnowski
Categories:
Home Buying