Remember Johnny Isakson? He’s the Georgia Senator who introduced the The Home Buyer Tax Credit Act of 2009 in June of this year which would have increased the first time buyer tax credit from $8,000 to $15,000. It would have also removed the restriction that the tax credit could be used by first time home buyers only. That bill was defeated in a 47-50 Senate vote in August but that hasn’t stopped Isakson from pushing to extend the current tax credit past its November 30th expiration.
Senator Isakson, former president of Northside Realty in Cobb County, Georgia, says he is “talking to everybody and anybody” to extend the $8,000 tax credit and affirms that not doing so would “protract and extend the recession” just as we enter the downtime of the real estate buying season over the winter months.
Real estate industry professionals ranging from real estate agents to mortgage brokers and everyone in between can attest to the uptick in home sales due, in part, to the $8,000 first time buyer tax credit. According to Lawrence Yun, NAR’s Chief Economist, the $8,000 tax credit has been used to purchase approximately 1.2 million homes so far this year.
Lending serious consideration to the tax credit’s extension is Whitehouse spokesperson Robert Gibbs’ statement earlier today. Gibbs said President Barack Obama’s economic team is evaluating the effect of the tax credit on new home sales prior to their recommendation on how to proceed to the President.
Not everyone is in favor of the tax credit seeing continued light of day as indicated by many unfavorable comments in The Boston Globe’s article on the subject. Opinions aside, there may simply be no money left to pay for an extended home buyer tax credit at a time when Congress is facing budget deficits in excess of $1 trillion dollars.
Do you think the U.S. government should continue providing $8,000 to eligible first time home buyers or is the entire tax credit a bad idea? How would you change the tax credit?
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This act will useful for first time buyer and it will make easy for him also.Because of gaining in credit,a first time buyer can easily go for purchase a home and its good for real estate also.
I salute to this home buyer tax credit policy and expanding it is excellent one and I believe that credit should be expanded to all home buyers and even investors.
The tax credit is good for the economy? REALLY? I don’t think so guys common now. Think about it, when the tax credit ends now or next doesn’t matter because we’ll still be in the same position. Banker lending to anyone is no different than a tax credit nor is it different than a bailout or cash for clunker. The taxpayers as a whole from coast to coast are paying for this behavior. Listen, you can’t borrow or promote your way out of debt. Look, when all the promotions are done, guess what? WE’LL BE IN THE SAME PLACE WE WERE GOING TO END UP AT IN THE FIRST PLACE! The economy MUST fix itself to truly regain strength. Welcome to year 2100.
the tax credit helps stimulate the economy. When houses are built a lot of people are put to work:
Roofers
Framers
Lumber mills
Truckers
Drywallers
Excavators
Plumbers
Landscapers
Lighting manufactures
Lighting installers
Carpet makers
carpet installers
tile companies
literally hundreds of companies are involved in the manufacture of the materials and installation of materials to go into a home. More houses – more jobs.
Yes – its artifically stimulating demand, but of all the things to artificially stimulate, this one has a great bang for the buck.
i agree with Ken on this one. I think they should extend and expand this tax credit. It only helps. I know we will have to pay for it later but who cares. We need to sell some homes.