随着房价大幅下跌及抵押贷款利率走低，首次置业者迎来了购房的好时机。这些人曾因价格高昂而无法购房，如今则能够以更低的价格购得房屋。据全国地产经纪商协会的数据，2008年底首次置业者占所有购房者的比例上升到了41%。
多年来，伊丽莎白·吉尔德(Elizabeth Child)的朋友甚至在价格不菲的凤凰城地区也买了大房子，而她仍在租房子。但今年1月份，这位航空公司的客户服务代表和男朋友也拥有了自己的首座房子。这座房子有三室两卫，还有花岗岩台面和一个游泳池。2007年底时它的报价还是34万美元，而他们两人只花220,500美元就买了下来。27岁的吉尔德说，6个月前我还没想过拥有自己的房子。现在我有了，这真是好极了。Mark Peterman for WSJ凤凰城的房价大幅下跌后，吉尔德和男友终于能买起他们的第一套房子了。房地产泡沫的破裂催生了一批新的赢家，这就是首次置业者。过去一直处于观望状态的人常常羡慕地看着他们的朋友有了自己的房子，但现在他们突然有了达成理想交易的条件。事实上，根据全国地产经纪商协会(National Association of Realtors)最近的调查，到2008年年底时，首次置业者占所有购房者的41%，高于2006年时的36%。根据S&P/Case-Schiller指数，房价从2006年年中时的高点下跌了约四分之一，这让首次置业者很容易动心。在一些市场上，房价的跌幅更大，如凤凰城迈阿密和拉斯维加斯的跌幅就达到了40%左右。抵押贷款利率的下降也让房价更能被承受，房地产市场低迷的时间越长，愿意对价格做出让步的房主就越多。随着国会考虑对首次置业者提供免税，情况可能会进一步好转。全国地产经纪商协会首席经济学家Lawrence Yun说，买家现在正在重新回到受到重创的房地产市场。现在是买方市场。当然，想要如愿的买家需要良好的信用记录和一笔不小的首付款。而且，找到适合的房产对首次置业者也并非易事，他们一般都想寻找价格比较低廉的房屋。全国地产经纪商协会说，首次置业者去年购买的房屋均价为165,000美元。但目前降价出售的房屋中不少是豪华公寓和占地很大的单户型住宅。Mark Peterman for WSJ吉尔德花了约22万美元买下了原价34万美元的房子在佛罗里达南部工作的房地产律师奥勒弗森(Shari Olefson)说，不成比例的豪宅库存并未改观。即使你有资格贷款，购买大房子还有巨大的间接成本。不过，房地产经纪和抵押贷款机构仍指望首次置业者能帮助刺激沉闷的房地产市场。许多机构专门举办了面向首次置业者的讲座和信息交流会，为购房者办理联邦和州政府的税收优惠，提供当地的价格和获得较低的抵押贷款利率的方式。俄克拉何马州塔尔萨的抵押贷款顾问艾珀斯(Tim Epps)为潜在买家进行租房与购房的模拟比较，并建议其他可能的买家也进行同样的长期计算。艾珀斯和许多抵押贷款机构建议，尽管美国联邦住宅管理局(Federal Housing Administration)允许部分入市的首次置业者最低只需缴纳3%的首付，但买家还是应尽可能提高首付。（Hud.gov上登有更多联邦住宅管理局为首次置业者设计的贷款计划信息。）艾珀斯说，即使购房者现在有所损失，但从长远看，却有一些税收方面的好处。他指的是抵押贷款利息的减少和首次置业者的抵税。美国国会去年通过了对首次置业者提供7,500美元的抵税额，但迄今为止对房地产市场的影响并不大。业内专家说，由于这笔信贷还需偿还，购房者都将其视为是另一笔贷款。但国会正在制定的刺激计划很可能废除要求购房者偿还这笔抵税额的规定，并可能扩大抵税额。对于许多购房者来说，最大的问题在于是否还有更好的入市机会。从历史上看，住房市场的复苏非常缓慢，大多数专家预计，房价将在低位保持一段时间。房地产专家说，这意味着人们有充足的的时间慢慢挑选合适的房产。Mary Pilon相关阅读美国的房子真不贵 2009-02-02
For years, even as her friends bought huge houses in the expensive Phoenix market, Elizabeth Child remained a renter.But in January, the airline customer-service agent and her boyfriend closed on their first home. The three-bedroom, two-bath house, complete with granite countertops and a pool, had been listed for $340,000 in late 2007, but the couple bought it for $220,500. 'Six months ago I didn't think I would own a home,' says Ms. Child, 27 years old. 'And now I do. It's so perfect.'The housing bust is creating a new group of winners: first-time home buyers. People who sat on the sidelines -- often watching wistfully as their friends became homeowners -- are suddenly in a position to grab some great deals. Indeed, first-time home buyers made up 41% of all buyers at the end of 2008, up from 36% in 2006, according to a recent survey from the National Association of Realtors.The new buyers are being lured in by home prices that are down about 25% from their peak levels in mid-2006, according to the S&P/Case-Schiller Index. In some markets, prices have dropped even further -- slumping around 40% in Phoenix, Miami and Las Vegas. Lower mortgage rates have also helped make real estate more affordable, and as houses languish on the market longer, more homeowners are willing to negotiate. With Congress considering plans to sweeten a tax credit for first-time home buyers, the picture could get even brighter.'Buyers are now coming back into those hard-hit markets to take advantage,' says Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors' association. 'It's a buyer's market.'Of course, would-be buyers need decent credit scores and the money for a decent down payment. Also, finding the right property can be a challenge for first-time buyers, who tend to be seeking less-expensive homes. The typical first-time buyer purchased a home costing $165,000 last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. Yet some of the best bargains right now are in luxury condos and sprawling single-family houses.'The disproportionate McMansion inventory doesn't work,' says Shari Olefson, a real-estate lawyer who works in southern Florida. 'Even if you qualify for the loan, there are huge overhead costs to buying a larger home.'Still, real-estate agents and mortgage lenders are banking on first-time buyers to help stimulate the otherwise dreary housing market. Many are holding workshops and information sessions designed specifically for first-time buyers, addressing federal and state tax incentives for homeowners, local prices and ways to take advantage of low mortgage interest rates. Tim Epps, a mortgage adviser in Tulsa, Okla., runs rent-vs.-buying simulations for would-be buyers and recommends that other prospective buyers do the same long-term calculations.Mr. Epps and many mortgage lenders recommend that buyers come up with as big a down payment as possible, even though Federal Housing Administration loans will allow some first-time buyers to enter the market with as little as 3% down. (Hud.gov has more information about FHA loan programs designed for first-time buyers.)'Even if [a home owner] loses some paper equity, in the long run, there are some tax benefits,' says Mr. Epps, referring to the deduction for interest paid on mortgages and the credit for first-time home buyers.The $7,500 tax credit for first-time buyers, which Congress passed last year, has had little effect on the market so far. Because the credit has to be repaid, buyers are viewing it as another loan, industry experts say. But the stimulus package that Congress is working on is likely to repeal the provision that requires buyers to pay the credit back and possibly enlarge the tax credit as well.For many buyers, the biggest question is whether to hold out for even better conditions. Historically, recoveries in the housing market are slow, and most experts expect the prices to stay low for some time. That means people can take their time shopping for the right property, real-estate experts say.Mary Pilon
For years, even as her friends bought huge houses in the expensive Phoenix market, Elizabeth Child remained a renter.But in January, the airline customer-service agent and her boyfriend closed on their first home. The three-bedroom, two-bath house, complete with granite countertops and a pool, had been listed for $340,000 in late 2007, but the couple bought it for $220,500. 'Six months ago I didn't think I would own a home,' says Ms. Child, 27 years old. 'And now I do. It's so perfect.'The housing bust is creating a new group of winners: first-time home buyers. People who sat on the sidelines -- often watching wistfully as their friends became homeowners -- are suddenly in a position to grab some great deals. Indeed, first-time home buyers made up 41% of all buyers at the end of 2008, up from 36% in 2006, according to a recent survey from the National Association of Realtors.The new buyers are being lured in by home prices that are down about 25% from their peak levels in mid-2006, according to the S&P/Case-Schiller Index. In some markets, prices have dropped even further -- slumping around 40% in Phoenix, Miami and Las Vegas. Lower mortgage rates have also helped make real estate more affordable, and as houses languish on the market longer, more homeowners are willing to negotiate. With Congress considering plans to sweeten a tax credit for first-time home buyers, the picture could get even brighter.'Buyers are now coming back into those hard-hit markets to take advantage,' says Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors' association. 'It's a buyer's market.'Of course, would-be buyers need decent credit scores and the money for a decent down payment. Also, finding the right property can be a challenge for first-time buyers, who tend to be seeking less-expensive homes. The typical first-time buyer purchased a home costing $165,000 last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. Yet some of the best bargains right now are in luxury condos and sprawling single-family houses.'The disproportionate McMansion inventory doesn't work,' says Shari Olefson, a real-estate lawyer who works in southern Florida. 'Even if you qualify for the loan, there are huge overhead costs to buying a larger home.'Still, real-estate agents and mortgage lenders are banking on first-time buyers to help stimulate the otherwise dreary housing market. Many are holding workshops and information sessions designed specifically for first-time buyers, addressing federal and state tax incentives for homeowners, local prices and ways to take advantage of low mortgage interest rates. Tim Epps, a mortgage adviser in Tulsa, Okla., runs rent-vs.-buying simulations for would-be buyers and recommends that other prospective buyers do the same long-term calculations.Mr. Epps and many mortgage lenders recommend that buyers come up with as big a down payment as possible, even though Federal Housing Administration loans will allow some first-time buyers to enter the market with as little as 3% down. (Hud.gov has more information about FHA loan programs designed for first-time buyers.)'Even if [a home owner] loses some paper equity, in the long run, there are some tax benefits,' says Mr. Epps, referring to the deduction for interest paid on mortgages and the credit for first-time home buyers.The $7,500 tax credit for first-time buyers, which Congress passed last year, has had little effect on the market so far. Because the credit has to be repaid, buyers are viewing it as another loan, industry experts say. But the stimulus package that Congress is working on is likely to repeal the provision that requires buyers to pay the credit back and possibly enlarge the tax credit as well.For many buyers, the biggest question is whether to hold out for even better conditions. Historically, recoveries in the housing market are slow, and most experts expect the prices to stay low for some time. That means people can take their time shopping for the right property, real-estate experts say.Mary Pilon
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