CHICAGO, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- First-time homebuyers purchased 47 percent of the homes sold in the past year, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.
That's up from 41 percent in the previous year and 36 percent in 2006, the group said.
Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, said the federal tax credit for first-time buyers appears to be pushing the housing market toward recovery.
"Given the success of the first-time buyer tax credit to date, and the need for qualified buyers to continue to absorb inventory that will include additional foreclosures over the coming year, we are hopeful about the impact of the expanded tax credit because it will stabilize home prices," he said. "In fact, the credit is working better than first projected."
NAR predicted 2.3 million to 2.4 million sales to first-time homebuyers in 2009.
The group's affordability index, measuring house prices against incomes, is expected to hit a record high in 2010, then head down as prices go up.
"We've seen a steady downtrend in housing inventory for well over a year and home prices appears to be in the early stages of stabilizing," Yun said.
With expansion of the tax credit to additional buyers through the middle of next year, and barring major unforeseen events impacting the economy, home prices should rise
3 percent to 5 percent in 2010, with wide geographical differences, Yun said.
