I could take a look in detail at the October numbers for Culpeper, Fauquier and Prince William Counties. But they don't show any shockingly different results or trends. And, I thought it'd be more interesting to take a look at the impact of the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit in our area.

Obviously, without interviewing every buyer it's impossible to know the precise impacts. But I think it's fair to compare the pace of home buying in each county over the past few months and see how we were doing a year ago without the tax credit and how we've done this year with the credit.

Culpeper is first up. Here are the total sales May through October both in 2008 and in 2009:

Hmmm...if anything the volume of sales is lower in 2009 with the tax credit available.

How about Fauquier?

The evidence is more mixed here. Was the increase in August, September and October because of the tax incentives?

Here's how Prince William looked:

Clearly there was no help from the tax incentive in Prince William County.

I'll do Rappahannock County, just to be consistent, but I'd tell you the results there without even looking:

This is Rappahannock County. Trust me, there weren't many first time home buyers in that lot!

The overall picture is not one that suggests the tax credit had any appreciable impact at all. Were a few extra homes sold? Probably. Was it enough to make any appreciable difference in the market? It seems unlikely. The only argument you could make for that would be that the market would have declined significantly without the tax credits. I'd be hard pressed to find data to support that argument. We'd likely have been in the same relatively flat pattern we've seen for some time now.

So, how do you feel about the extension and expansion of the home buyer tax credit now? Is it worth your tax dollars?

The on again, off again, opportunity to use the $8000 tax credit as a down payment is back on again. At least if you get a VHDA loan.

The guidelines for the program are here. The program utilizes a second mortgage to make this happen. That second mortgage requires no mortgage payments for the first year and has a 0% interest rate during that year. You have multiple options on how to deal with the second mortgage after that first year.

It's worth taking a look at this program if the only thing keeping you from owning a home is coming up with a down payment.

If you need help finding a VHDA lender, let me know. I'd be happy to help!