Procrastination

Well it looks like the final leg of the Housing Recovery Act, that expires on December 1st, will come to a quicker close. The program was established for first-time buyers provided them an $8,000 credit in their income taxes if they qualify. Well on October 1st, the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) is putting it to an early grave for some first-time buyers, specifically condominium purchases. Nationally each condo association that is certified for FHA financing will need to renew their certification. That's Nationally, meaning every condo in the United States with certifications older than 2008. The big question is who will be doing the certification, management company's more than likely. Are they ready? We will have to see.

Is What We Learn From Past Experience Enough?

George Bernard Shaw once said, "If history repeats itself and the unexpected always happens, how incapable are we to learn from experience."

Anchorage has a pretty solid housing market. The number I like the best is inventory. The supply of homes is roughly about 4 months. In the $250K to $275K price range the inventory is just over 2 months, but homes priced over a million the inventory is 21 months. It is projected without builder activity, some price points could be under supplied. That means Anchorage real estate prices will increase at certain price points and may have an affect on the overall psychological demand.

With the experience of the early 80's though, banks and the State of Alaska have prepared themselves for rough times. The State and Anchorage Municipality may not be as prepared as they like though, based on recent news.

The tough part for Alaska will be those unexpected, maybe outside influences that we are not able to predict.