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A market study indicated that first-time buyers are rushing to find foreclosure properties to purchase and complete the sale deal before the end of November, the deadline given by the federal government for them to buy properties with the help of the $8,000 tax credit.

So far, several areas across the country have been experiencing a surge in home sales due to the rush of first-time homebuyers who want to take advantage of the tax credit and investors who find foreclosure properties that sell below the market value great investments.

Already, the federal government is receiving pressure from various sectors to extend the tax credit being offered to first-time homebuyers. The study showed that not extending the tax credit would affect home sales and housing starts.

It noted that the growing number of housing starts this year will be stunted if the tax credit will not be extended beyond its November deadline. Industry experts believed that gains in housing starts during the first and second quarters will be for nothing if the numbers in the third and fourth quarters will drop.

Experts pointed out that housing starts in previous months have increased due partly to the tax credit given to first-time homebuyers. They cited the decline in speculative inventories for many builders as the other factor that push up housing starts. Speculative inventories are kept at normal levels if builders will start home construction every time that they were able to sell one.

Industry experts predicted that housing starts’ recovery will continue, albeit at a slow pace, because builders in some areas in the country are still reducing their inventory. The study predicted that housing starts will reach a total of 562,000 this year, representing a 38 percent decline compared with the same period a year ago. Similarly, starts for single family homes are predicted to drop by 30 percent.

Industry experts said that many housing markets across the country have been showing improvements for some time now. But those markets that were severely affected by the collapse are just starting to show increases in housing starts. All these increases are attributed to the federal tax credit that encouraged first-time homebuyers to find foreclosure properties to buy.

Buying a foreclosed house for sale in Texas is a good investment option as home prices are expected to fall further because of the rising number of homeowners getting hit with default and foreclosure notices, based on data from an Addison-based real estate research firm.

The pace of foreclosures has been increasing particularly in the counties of Tarrant, Fort Worth, Dallas, Collin and Denton.

In Tarrant, a total of 1,814 foreclosure filings were posted for the November auction, a 35-percent increase from filings in November 2008.

Year-to-date foreclosure postings in Tarrant increased to 18,424, marking a rise of 26 percent from last year and a staggering increase of 97 percent compared to 2005.

In Collin County, foreclosure postings for the November auction rose by 38 percent. In Denton and in Dallas, foreclosure postings increased by 35 percent and 23 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, foreclosure postings for the November auction rose by over 30 percent from postings last year, but they slowed down compared to the previous month by six percent.

Despite the slight monthly drop however, housing analysts in the area expect the year 2009 to be the worst year for the region. Foreclosure researchers predicted that the Dallas-Fort Worth area will surpass 60,000 units for 2009, a record high in the history of the region.

Nevertheless, the foreclosure pace in the region is good for individuals hoping for improved home affordability and families looking for an affordable foreclosed house for sale.

The four counties of Tarrant, Denton, Dallas and Collin have a total of 5,554 residential units posted for the scheduled auction in November. This is the seventh time the four counties surpassed the 5,000-level over the last eight months.

Of the estimated 60,000 units posted for auctions in the region, analysts said that approximately 40 percent are actually auctioned off to buyers or repossessed by the banks. Most of the housing units posted are usually saved by the homeowners through the help of nonprofits and foreclosure prevention counselors under the Obama administration’s loan refinancing and modification programs.

However, based on modification data, many of these homeowners who obtain loan modifications fall into default again within several months of signing modification agreements because of various reasons including unemployment, income reduction and serious medical conditions by a family member. As a result, in several parts of Texas, it is not unusual seeing a family leaving a foreclosed house for sale.

Expect more cheap foreclosed properties in the coming months. This is the bleak prognosis given by economists and executives who attended the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) annual conference in San Diego, California. They said that unemployment has replaced subprime mortgage as the main factor driving up default rates.

Foreclosure properties on sale are spreading across New York City and tenants of apartments that have been foreclosed on are suffering the most.

Christopher Thornberg, one of the top economists who predicted the crisis in the housing market, said that the number of foreclosure property for sale will continue to increase. At the fourth annual conference of Newwest.net, Thornberg said that the economic recovery has started but it will be a long way before it stabilizes and achieves a total recovery.

Cheap foreclosed homes for sale are in abundance in Florida, based on data from an online real estate research firm.

The growing number of cheap house in foreclosure in Bonney Lake, Washington has affected many construction projects in the area. Industry experts said that overbuilding in the city has led to many empty and foreclosed homes.

For quite some time now, the abundance of cheap foreclosed property and unsold homes in Massachusetts has kept construction projects at bay. Developers know that they do not stand a chance against bargain-priced foreclosure houses.

Many families are buying foreclosure homes for sale in Delaware. These families are all first-time homebuyers who are given the chance to buy foreclosure houses in the state. Thanks to the federal housing funds amounting to $19.6 million, these families are given a chance to fulfill their dreams of owning their own houses.

Thousands of Missouri first-time homebuyers are joining the hordes of investors to buy foreclosure property for sale. The scene in the housing market right now is far different over last year.