The Senate voted wednesday to extend and expand the $8,000 first-time homebuyers tax credit, and passed the measure by a measure by a 98-0 vote.
The tax credit will be extended to applications taken by April 30th 2010 so long as they close by June 30th, and will also be expanded to those who have owned their current home for 5 tears and want to upgrade. Current homeowners will be eligible for tax credits up to $6,500.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is organizing its membership to begin a letter-writing campaign to encourage Congress to extend the first-time homebuyer tax credit.
NAR said 1.2m new homebuyers entered the housing market because of the $8,000 credit, including 350,000 homebuyers that would not have purchased without the credit. The credit is scheduled to expire on Nov. 30, but NAR is urging Congress to extend it through 2010. We have all seen how the credit has been a spur to bring homebuyers into the market, and have seen the beginnings of a real recovery in the housing market. Housing has always led this nation out of economic downturns, and can do so again,” said NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth. NAR said its encouraging its 1.2m members to write about successes with the tax credit to senators and representatives in Congress. “The credit needs to be available for an additional period of time in order to sustain the progress that’s been made so we can continue to see our markets fully recover,” McMillan added.The Home Ownership Moves The Economy (HOME) act ( HR 2801) is a bill which if passed, will extend the current tax credit into 2010, and allow all homeowners to take advantage of the credit. Read more here.
Our office will be holding a seminar for first time home buyers on Tuesday, June 23rd from 7:00 to 8:30 PM . The things you will learn:
The entire buying process from start to finish
Current (historically low) mortgage rates
The different loans available, Difference between short sales, foreclosures, and REO properties
The $8,000 first time home buyers’ tax credit which expires 11/30/09 and the new construction tax rebate.
This will be a great experience for those of you who have questions about the buying process, and best of all, it’s FREE! All I ask is that you RSVP for this event as there will be limited seating.
Tuesday, June 23 from 7:00 to 8:30pm
Keller Willams Realty
5900 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 610
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(Plenty of street parking)
Please RSVP
Johnny Burke
323-527-6600
According to this article from today’s Wall Street Journal , only 12,000 applications for California’s tax credit for new homes will be accepted for qualified buyers. As of June 10, 9,000 appilications have already been submitted. Apparently builders are trying to extend the credit, but the state’s financial woes make that unlikely.