July has come and gone and its time to take a look at the effect  to the Stockton Real Estate Market with the expiration of the home buyers tax credit.

July sales by area 2010 vs. 2009

AREA                          July 2010 Sales                  July 2009 Sales

Stockton                      369                                           571
Lodi                              62                                            67
Manteca/Lathrop     145                                           214

Impact of tax credit was enormous

Sales and For Sale in the last 12 Months

The monthly sales stats paint a very clear picture– the effect of the tax credit on the Stockton area real estate market was ENORMOUS.

Here are some things that jump out at us, when we look at these numbers:

• Sales in the San Joaquin County dropped 32% in July
• Stockton was the loss leader– a whopping 34% fewer July sales
• Lodi saw only a small dip in sales, relative to the other areas.

What does the rest of 2010 hold?

It is not obvious that the tax credit was holding the real estate market up and had increased the demand for housing.  Now that it has expired, we will see how the buyers react and will get a true demand and gage of the market strength.

Traditionally, July and August are when buying is at its yearly peak.  The slow-down begins in the fall and into the winter months.  But with the peak of the market already taken a dive it doesn’t look to good for the remainder of 2010.  The one positive aspect to this market is the historically low interest rates.  However, I’m not sure this will convince buyers to continue their activity as shown earlier in the year.

For reference, there were 510 sales in Stockton area in the month of August 2009.  In order to reach that mark again, demand in the area is going to have to do a dramatic turn around.

If you have any questions about any of these real estate stats, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment on this post.

Inventory of homes for Sale in past 12 Months- Click for larger image