(This story was originally published by Mint.com on Wed, May 20, 2010.)
photo: haglundc
Many economists predicted that once the $8,000 home buyer tax credit expires on April 30, the real estate market would not be able to hold on to its earlier gains. And judging from the 27% decline in mortgage applications reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association Wednesday, they were probably right.
That’s hardly the type of news mortgage lenders, developers and real estate brokers like to hear. The huge inventory of unsold homes is still crippling the market — so some industry players are launching their own temporary incentives in hopes of keeping up the momentum of the government’s program.
On May 1, for example, real estate brokerage Coldwell Banker launched a “Buyer Bonus” program through which buyers will be refunded 3% of a home’s final purchase price, up to $8,000, at closing. The program will end July 31.
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