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.

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.

Even though the home buyer tax credit expired on April 30 and won’t be renewed, there may never be a better time to buy a home than today, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Many outstanding opportunities still exist for home buyers, but they may not be around forever.

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.

Avondale, Ariz.–Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY17) recently introduced legislation that would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 eliminating the so called ‘marriage penalty’ from the Home Buyer Tax Credit.

Potential home buyers who delay have a lot to lose.

First-time home buyer and move-up tax credits worth $8,000 and $6,500, respectively, expire April 30. Buyers who qualify get a dollar-for-dollar reduction in taxes or a cash payment if they don’t pay enough taxes to cover the credit.

The Internal Revenue Service has clarified which documentation taxpayers need to submit to claim the first-time and move-up homebuyer tax credit.

With a new April 30 deadline in place for clients to take advantage of a federal home-buyer incentive, real estate practitioners now have slightly less than four months to get their qualified prospects under contract before the cut-off date.

The complexity of new home buyer tax credits leaves potential buyers with many questions. Here are answers to some of the most confusing:

How does a current home owner qualify for the $6,500 credit?

New figures show that sales of previously-owned US homes rose in October at a faster than expected pace as buyers rushed to take advantage of a tax break. Property industry group the National Association of Realtors said sales surged a record 10.1% to an annual rate of 6.1 million units, the highest since February 2007. This compared with a downwardly revised 5.54 million units in September.