Photo source: City of Austin

With the first-time homebuyer’s tax credit set to expire in April and home prices at generational lows, people–especially young people–are able to buy their first homes a lot sooner than many expected.

Some gloomy numbers loomed over the real estate market this week when national home sales and prices dropped, while mortgage rates creeped up.

“Demand to buy homes is really weak,” said Patrick Newport, economist at IHS Global Insight.