Congress set to expand homebuyer tax credit!

Congress set to expand homebuyer tax credit!

First-time home buyers have been getting tax credits of up to $8,000 since January as part of the economic stimulus package enacted earlier this year. The measure was designed to stimulate additional demand for residential real estate and help absorb the overage of unsold properties that was putting downward slope on home prices. But with the tax credit program scheduled to expire at the end of November, the Senate voted Wednesday to extend and expand the tax credit to include many buyers who already own homes. The measure, adopted on a strong bipartisan vote of 98-0, also would extend and expand a tax creditfor businesses with losses. The House is expected to follow suit within days, and President Obama is expected to sign it into law.

Buyers who have owned their current homes at least five years would be eligible for tax credits of up to $6,500. First-time home buyers - or anyone who hasn't owned a home in the last three years - would still get up to $8,000. To qualify, buyers in both groups have to sign a purchase agreement by April 30, 2010, and close by June 30. The bill also would increase the level of qualifying incomes to $125,000 for individual tax filers and $225,000 for joint filers. Those earning up to $145,000 individually or up to $245,000 jointly would get a smaller tax credit that decreases as income rises.

Although the agreement appears to have broad bipartisan support, it still has to get out of the chamber. Along it's way, it could have certain generous provisions stripped. But in light of the White House support, it appears all but certain that at the very least, the first-time home buyer tax credit will be extended beyond its November 30 deadline.

This is great news for my buyer's in Santa Clarita. With our inventory being so low I have a lot of buyer's that have been unable to secure a property of their choice before the tax credit was due to expire. Now if the tax credit is extended my buyer's won't feel as much pressure as of late to get into something before it disappears.