Since the lending and real estate markets seem to have such a great ripple effect on the rest of the economy, the stimulus plan may be the most important plan ever for getting New Jersey’s real estate market back on track. Houses NJ for sale need to start moving again, and a sense of ownership (safe ownership) needs to develop before the real estate and lending markets right themselves. The stimulus plan will help NJ’s infrastructure by possibly giving us 15 billion dollars!

Some experts feel that although the plan will help by increasing conforming loan limits for high value areas, it will do little to help the overall picture of the real estate market. Housing inventories do remain very high, and there is still some over-valuation in some markets, especially in the Southeast part of the country. In the past years, home owners used their homes like a bank at times, and that resulted in homes being worth a lot less than the balance owed on them. The plan may do little to correct this imbalance.

Still others believe that the “cash injection” the package will give us, may drive consumers to get out there and buy up bank owned homes and distress properties, thus resulting in a slow, but steady, recovery of the real estate market. Another part of the package is that there will be some grants for first time home buyers. In an economy where a lot of young people are strapped for down payments, the grants may be the saving grace.

By: Chris Hallmark