Commercial & Residential Property Blog

Washington, D.C.–It happened just as industry experts predicted. The June 30 closing deadline for first-time homebuyers to take advantage of the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009–or the homebuyer tax credit program–forced a decline in pending home sales after having bolstered them for three consecutive months, as per the National Association of Realtors. But a late-breaking development could turn the tide.

The U.S. House on Tuesday agreed to give home buyers until Sept. 30 to close on eligible properties and still qualify for the home buyer tax credits.

Up to 180,000 home buyers will lose their tax credit through no fault of their own if Congress fails to pass an extension to the home buyer tax credit by June 30 when the closing deadline expires.

In a case closely watched by developers nationwide, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Friday that condo developers are responsible for taxes on condos that have been approved for construction, but aren’t built yet.

Builders are rushing to finish homes so that buyers can close on them before the June 30 deadline to qualify for a federal tax credit.

WASHINGTON – Homebuyers may get an extra three months to finish qualifying for federal tax incentives that boosted home sales this spring.

JMP Securities analyst James Wilson says sales activities in California, Texas, and Arizona are approaching pre-April numbers in many markets. In some markets, builders are able to continue to raise prices and homes are selling at the strongest pace since before spring 2009, he says.

WASHINGTON – A rush of homebuyers aiming to meet a deadline to qualify for a federal tax credit pushed the number of signed sales contracts to the highest level since October.

Sales of newly built, single-family homes surged 14.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 504,000 units in April as consumers rushed to beat the deadline for expiring home buyer tax credits, according to data released by the U.S. Commerce Department today. This was the strongest level of new-home buying activity since May of 2008.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) wants members of the military, foreign service, and intelligence communities to know that they may have an additional year to buy a home and claim the home buyer tax credit, which expires for most Americans on April 30.