Quote: home buyer tax credits creating "false sense" of demand

You can’t really take the current housing statistics too seriously, because the government has been doing everything they can to support the housing market, whether it’s the quantitative easing of the tax credit or the looser FHA rules. And so it’s really going to be the test, what happens in May, June, July. I like the statistics now, although I think we’re getting a false sense of what the real demand is.

Land and Buildings Founder / CEO Jonathan Litt, on the state of the national housing market on the eve of the federal home buyer tax credit deadline.

Surely this has been drilled into your head for months, but the $8,000 first-time buyer and $6,500 repeat buyer credits expire after April 30. (Quick: What’s the day after April 30? May Day! Someone out there has a sense of humor.) Aside from the pizza-and-Red Bull crowd, most buyers who plan to take advantage of the credit are well into their home search and are making offers if they haven’t already. Don’t expect that to quiet the credit deadline talk below a dull roar, though. And something tells me we’ll see plenty of ads for post-deadline deals of or near $8,000 come May 1 — just a hunch.

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