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Economists: Real estate market will improve after federal programs expire

March 15, 2010 - Industry experts expect that the real estate market will be strong enough to recover on its own after federal aid programs end, BusinessWeek reports.

Although the federal homebuyer tax credit is slated to expire next month, market analysts say that increases in jobs, credit and affordable housing options will continue to stimulate growth in the market.

While sales of existing homes fell 7.2 percent in January, housing starts rose by 2.8 percent, which may be indicative of optimism among builders and prospective homebuyers. As a result, economists expect that sales of new homes will increase within the next year.

Karl Case, co-founder of the Standard and Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, told the news source that he would "bet even odds that we're at a bottom and that we’re going to see improvement in the coming months."

Overall, home sales are projected to increase by 6 percent this year, according to the media outlet.

Individuals who are planning on relocating can still take advantage of the Federal Housing Tax Credit, which could be worth up to $8,000 for first-time buyers, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

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