The extension only allows people who signed contracts to finish the transaction at the later date. This will help the buyers who are purchasing short sales which can take months or never actually close.

The Seattle condo, as well as single-family home, market has shown great signs of improvement over the last three months and a leveling out of the inventory. Now, both new homebuyers and current homeowners can step up the search for just the right home in the neighborhood of their liking. With mortgage rates in the low 5s at some institutions, these next few months are likely to make that serious prospective home-owner’s dream come true.

Nationwide, the original tax credit was claimed by nearly 1.4 million homebuyers, about 360,000 of whom would not otherwise have made the purchase, says the National Association of Realtors. Here in the Seattle area, a combination of home and condo sales were up 64 percent over a years ago, and most of those by first-time homebuyers using the credit. With the likely influx of current owners, we should be seeing a rise at all levels of property, from the lower end all the way through the luxury range. With the stabilization of prices over the last few months, we’ll also start seeing an upward swing in pricing. Clearly this is THE time to begin the hunt.

Excited auction buyers came well prepared, most putting down 20 percent – certainly the tax incentive was part of the motivation. And, very few investors bought units, which in other times would be the other way around. As Ken Stevens, CEO of Accelerated Marketing Partners, put it: “The auction added a dimension of transparency to the process and sellers aren’t going to go right back to the original pricing… they are now willing to accept the mandate for this new pricing for the remaining inventory. It’s the only way the trust factor will return.”

For those looking to purchase a condo home at this time, there are two big incentives to consider (not including the $8,000 tax credit due to expire in November): the first is that in my opinion there is no way these buildings can be replaced for the cost at which the condo units sold. Which leads to the second: that buyers can feel really great about making a very secure investment. Gallery currently has about 15 condos left to sell, and Brix, about 20. Going…going….?

The Gallery Auction was held tonight at the Hyatt hotel in Seattle.  I attended with a buyer who was interested in a unit at this condominium.  There was a full room of people, it looked as though there was close to 350 seats and they were all filled.  Some of the bidding seemed to be emotional and the following table shows the results of the auction.   All the units sold and there were multiple bidders on all of the units.  Four units were added just prior to the auction.  Click on chart to enlarge.