2010's Double Dip in Housing Failures?

At the end of 2009, everyone had figured that the housing market had reached the worst level ever, and that it couldn’t possibly get worse. I don’t know that any of us really anticipated it would be this bad, but we didn’t expect it to recover quickly either.


Some warned us of a double dip in the housing market, while others predicted we would experience a self-sustained recovery. Oddly, we had neither! However, we can all see that the housing recovery will move slowly, that is no surprise. The homebuyer tax credit gave us a small jumpstart and gave us a little bit of confidence, and when that tax credit was taken away there was little incentive for folks to buy. So, with that being taken away it makes us all wonder if there is still a reason to buy.

Naturally, my answer is yes; there is a huge inventory of homes to choose from, and the tax bill affecting tax deductions was extended for another year. This is always helpful, simply because we want to have some incentive for one of the largest purchases we will ever make.

In some sense, we did bottom out twice, meaning our sales picked up with the tax credit, and then slowed down again, but I wouldn’t call this a “double dip” as some refer to the recession. While gains may have seemed artificial, let’s take it one day at a time, and let each of us do our part to make things better. Pay your bills, and when you can’t call ahead and begin making arrangements. Don’t wait until it’s too late to let someone know you need help.

-Mayer Dallal