First Time Home Buyers Finding Good Market

Washington, DC, April 3, 2009--Across Florida and other states with high numbers of foreclosures, severe declines in real estate values are reinvigorating a group of buyers previously priced out: middle-class families with steady jobs, who are often buying a home for the first time.

Figures released last week by the National Association of Realtors show that sales of existing homes across the country rose 5.1 percent in February, with much of the increase concentrated in foreclosed homes bought for less than $300,000. Even with tighter borrowing restrictions, many families used to renting are discovering that they can afford to own.

Real estate agents in Arizona, Florida, Nevada and other states hit hard by the bust say they began to notice rising interest among first-time buyers a few months ago, as prices dropped by more than a third.

The addition of a tax credit of up to $8,000, part of the federal housing rescue plan passed in February, appears to be sweetening the pot for some of those buyers, while banks eager to unload foreclosed properties have also begun to offer incentives, like money for closing costs.

In many cases, agents and loan officers say, first-time buyers are receiving loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, which allow for lower credit scores and a down payment of only 3.5 percent.