Home Prices

Lord -- wake up what you -- now. I got a call so -- back Friday in a big bag of Doritos. From port Garcia and he won't work anymore. You won't have an update his greatest work pants. We always talk about my references. -- if you you invite ends to a picnic you know don't show up coaxing a slight accent -- look at a he gets he got a gigantic bag of the read us. And I -- Kodak he has this. -- Well okay that's one that bill can check off do you go for being under control because the -- machine now fully working form. One of the John -- read LT everybody's help have to and you've got at Shea calling you know on his side that's gonna do is -- talk about some new numbers. None have come out with regard to home sales they continue to go in the right direction and that means I think that the recession is over. And happy days are here again chewy spree in the brass band plays -- the champagne as well thoughts pop those corks and say hello. To Steve sire from the Boston Globe once again hi Steve.

Good morning hey guys don't who would do -- what's going up. We're looking at the the latest realistic numbers this Todd mentioned -- and they are pretty good 4 September where are you that right now. And they're Gordon a couple of different ways one is that. There are more detail taking place which is obviously. That's something that we needed didn't do is if not great it's about forty half percent more that they translates into about thirty. Hundred. A real estate transactions in the state September. But also the price. Although went down went down you know -- little local percentage point but like that the average price there's at. To order 85 grand right now and that gap between what crisis we're now compared to a year ago if you go month to month to month that cat it -- The best trick sort of comparison that would have a couple of years so. More volume. Less price decline year a year at those are both good things. One last positive in the in the that the numbers is this issue we've talked about before which is the inventory of houses that are currently for sale. And I inventory number would -- huge going back not so long ago and it continuing to shrink and shrink and if you don't -- substantial but not that bad. If you had -- it at this pace it would take six plus months to basically. So what the inventory is now and then it it says that that that nothing but it's not out. -- so you. Right all right so these are all positive things of course the big question is. You know we're running out of time on the first time home buyer tax credit the 8000 dollar credit. -- what happens after that and how much of this activity that watching right now is people rushing to take advantage of that. Tax credits before it expires or maybe it won't there's.

Currently anticipate my next question which are dreadful aftermath of the automobile showrooms after the cash for clunkers program. Who ran out and expired just no activity whatsoever. I guess that's that's the 64000 dollar question will this still be home buying activity after this 8000 dollar credit. Disappears.

Well you know there's a lot of a lot of debate about just how much home buying activity this tax credit. As stimulate -- people who are very anxious to extend it and there's a big political campaign particularly among everybody in the real estate industry to extend it. Well it's essentially tell you that every transaction now there is being driven by this tax credit. It on the other hand there's other type of research that says that you know maybe four out of every five. Homebuyers were taking advantage of the credit would have bought a home anyway and so you're looking at. Actual transactions. You know stimulated by that tax credit. You know it may be that we're we're spending 40000 dollars to incrementally. Create one more transactions that if there's a lot of debate about what the money is actually doing. And you know frankly I'd like that to take a period of time and and get rid of it and see what happens anyway and I think. It's your point Tom comparing it for the clunkers that there is this activity that. We're using up you know future demand that's being crammed into this short time period to take advantage of bit of money opportunity.

That's a legitimate thing to do is an edited SO stimulus is all about is to move forward. I demand that wouldn't be in the marketplace otherwise.

Absolutely that it -- that's what it does stimulus literally has and that's what it's doing. You know in terms of what we're going to do going forward and there is out there are a lot of problems going forward whether it's. You know the inventory of foreclosed properties which continues to build up how we're gonna work through that.