The Senate voted 98-0 to extend and expand the home buyer tax credit. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives, and if it passes, President Obama must sign the bill before it becomes law.
Under the Senate bill, first time home buyers must be under contract on their new home by April 30, 2010 and closed by June 30, 2010 to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit. The bill would also allow current homeowners who have been in their homes for five of the past eight years to take advantage of a $6,500 credit if they buy a new home on the same timetable.
Income limits for the credits have been raised for individuals from $75,000 to $125,000 and for couples from $150,000 to $225,000.
The credit will only apply to homes selling under $800,000.
The National Association of Realtors and its members have done a great job raising awareness and lobbying Congress for this bill. In the next few days, we will probably see our efforts pay off!
I'll keep you posted!
This is good information for buyers and the real estate market should improve. Thanks for the post.
Lynn - I hope to see some genuine improvement in the market in the upcoming months, although this has been our business fall in years.
Gita and Jason - I think that early 2010 will be very busy for us. It's really great for all segments of the economy. When people buy a home, the next thing they do is go shopping - for housewares, flooring, paint, furniture, you name it.
I think we'll all need comfortable shoes! Thanks for writing.