Sales increase 49
percent over last
year in range up
to $150,000

By Mary Garrison
Tribune-Courier Features Editor
mgarrison@tribunecourier.com

MARSHALL COUNTY – Last year, in an effort to support the failing housing market, United States Congress passed a welcomed initiative to assist first-time homebuyers in purchasing their homes.

The tax credit, which began in July 2009, equivalent to 10 percent of the purchase price up to $8,000 was not only designed to make life easier for the buyer, but the seller, as well. And while Marshall County’s market never quite faced the dire conditions as many, the incentive bolstered sales for many area realtors.

“I know here [Park Avenue Properties], and for me personally, I’ve seen a significant increase in the number of first-time homebuyers we work with,” said Becky Ray, realtor with Park Avenue Properties in Draffenville and current president of the Kentucky-Barkley Lakes Board of Realtors. “We’ve been much stronger this year.”

In order to qualify, buyers had to enter into contracts with realtors by April 30 and fully close (or have a certificate of occupancy for those building new residences) the deal on properties by June 30. Congress last week granted a three-month extension to the June 30 deadline to assist those already in the process of closing deals under the tax credit.

While average closing time on a home is approximately 30 days, Ray said the process often takes longer with first-time buyers.

“There can be a variety of reasons,” Ray said. “Several buyers went through government lending programs like Rural Development. Well, Rural Development ran out of funding and they had to wait for more money to be allocated, so that clogged things up some.”

Ray said many times in the typical price range for first-time homebuyers, repairs are needed to properties before final purchase closing.

The new Sept. 30 deadline does not, however, open the door for potential homebuyers to qualify for the credit, only to complete the closing process. Regardless, Ray said the program has been a helpful one.

According to Kentucky-Barkley Lakes Board of Realtors database reports, in the last year, real estate sales in homes up to $150,000 — the standard price range for first-time homebuyers — in Marshall County have increased by 45 percent.

Similarly, homes in the same price range have spent 5 percent fewer days on the market in the last year. The total number of listings sold in homes up to $150,000 increased as well, up from 40 homes through June 25, 2009, to 58 through June 25, 2010.

The average sale price of properties up to $150,000 was up 40 percent, from $58,180 in 2009 to the current $81,465. Average list prices followed a similar trend, increasing 39 percent, from $64,080 to $89,112.

“The thing that really surprised me was that I had expected the number of first-time buyers to drop off after the April 30 deadline,” Ray said. “But it hasn’t. I’m still working with several first-time buyers.”