The stimulus simply wasn’t as stimulating this time around. I don’t think there were that many more buyers out and about just because of an $8,000 tax credit. From where I was standing, activity was normal — normal for a poor market, that is. People are still scared that they’re going to lose their jobs or that the market is going to drop even further, and a lot of buyers are absolutely convinced that sellers are going to drop prices more now that the tax credit is gone.
Meanwhile, other agents I know are taking part-time jobs or just leaving the business altogether. I’m fortunate, because I have a good book of business to draw on, but there are a lot of people who jumped in when things were easy and never took the time to really cultivate their own books. I’ll say this — it was fun while it lasted, but you’d be crazy to still be doing this if you didn’t absolutely love it.
– The word from a local Realtor who called to talk shop yesterday afternoon.
I’m hearing mixed opinions from veteran agents about whether they saw much action in the weeks leading up to April 30, but the ones I talked to yesterday all seemed to agree on one thing — we’re in the midst of a “hangover,” with no clear consensus about whether prices should change to reflect the loss of the $8,000 and $6,500 tax credits for buyers.