The Tax Credit Program expires at midnight on November 30th and provides that only purchases that have CLOSED by that time are eligible for the program. With the current HVCC appraisal regulations and mortgage environment it currently takes between 45 and 60 days from contract to closing on average.
The effect on the average first time home buyer is that if you submit an offer and it is accepted on August 10th could be up to 60 days before closing. That would create a closing date of October 10th 2009. A factor difficult to forecast is the potential delays from an anticipated increase in closings that will be taking place in the months of October and November in afforts to close transactions prior to the expiration of the program.
Now is the time to act. During the next month or so we expect to see increased demand for properties that fit the profile for first time buyers in the market place.
Current property listings for the St. Louis metro area including photos are avalaible here.