CNBC: White House Considering Extension of Home Buyer Tax Credit

• September 16th 2009

by Will Smith

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Last week we wrote that time was of the essence for first-time home buyers to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit. To give you enough time to comfortably get your paperwork filed and beat the crowds, you have just a couple more weeks to find a home and get an offer accepted. Recall that one source, online brokerage Redfin, recommends having an accepted offer by October 1st and closing by November 13th.

That timeline assumes that the tax credit expires on December 1st, as was originally legislated. But there are lobbies, including the powerful National Association of Realtors and National Association of Home Builders, that are pushing for the deadline to be extended into next year — and further, for the credit value to be increased and for qualifying individuals to be expanded beyond first-time buyers to include everyone.

These lobbying efforts have been known for months, but just this afternoon CNBC reported that the White House is now actually looking at an extension of the credit. While it is impossible to know how seriously to treat that single development, it does suggest that the various lobbying groups are making some headway.

Furthermore, in an article entitled New Push to Extend and Expand Tax Break for Home Buyers, today’s New York Times reports that Johnny Isakson, the Georgia senator who sponsored the current tax credit, has introduced a new bill that is even broader. Isakson apparently believes that an extension and expansion of the tax credit is central to a robust economic recovery. “Without a new and more generous credit, he warned, there would be a downward spiral of home sales and more foreclosures, provoking a second recession,” writes The Times.

We’ll keep watching the situation and let you know of any major developments.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/cnbc_white_house_considering_extension_of_home_buyer_tax_credit/1318.