Tuesday, April 20, 2010

First-time homebuyers drive March housing market

First-time homebuyers drove the housing market in March, posting a record high share, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance Monthly Survey of Real Estate Market Conditions.

The survey found that a huge 48.2% of March's home purchase transactions were attributable to first-time homebuyers. This eclipsed the previous peak of 46.9% reached last October when the expected November expiration of the original homebuyer tax credit sent purchases by first-time homebuyers soaring.

The surge in first-time homebuyer activity in March came at the same time the volume of distressed properties in the housing market climbed to over 50%, according to the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance survey. This was far above the low of 37.3% recorded in November, when a combination of government-mandated loan modification efforts and foreclosure moratoriums significantly reduced the inventory of distressed properties in the housing market.

Source: REAL Trends

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