The $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers is set to expire at the end of November, but lawmakers don’t want this benefit to end. While there have been some positive signs in the real estate market, the current credit hasn’t done much to stimulate house prices or the economy overall. All year, some senators and representatives have been suggesting improvements designed to further jump-start the real estate industry, none of which have been passed yet. Here are some of the enhancements they have been considering.
- Extending the deadline from November 30, 2009 to May 30, 2010 or November 30, 2010.
- Expanding the credit to all home buyers rather than just those who have not owned a house in the past three years (otherwise known as “first-time” home buyers).
- Increasing the credit from $8,000 to $15,000.
- Eliminating the income cap for qualification of $75,000 (or $150,000 for married filers).
These changes, if signed into law, would redirect the focus of the credit from the average consumer who needs a little boost to purchase a primary residence to investors and speculators. Flippers would still be discouraged because the bills currently under consideration in the House and the Senate both call for paying back the credit if the house is sold within two years or if the purchaser is not a primary resident sometime within two years.
For many people, $8,000 is not a big enough incentive to buy a house if they aren’t financially ready to do so. I don’t think increasing this to $15,000 would change much. This credit, if the changes become law, is a bailout of the housing industry, just like Cash for Clunkers was a benefit for the auto industry.
Update: The first-time home buyer tax credit has been extended and expanded. Click here for the latest details. The information below is now out-dated.
The Senate is considering a number of changes to the $8,000 first-time home buyers credit. Spurred on by Sen. Johnny Isakson from Georgia, the adjustments being considered seek to expand the credit to spur the real estate industry.
Here are the changes some Senators would like to make to the original law.
Expand the maximum credit from $8,000 to $15,000. When the first-time home buyer credit was first suggested as an amendment to the Senate’s 2009 Stimulus Bill, home buyers would stand to receive a credit worth 10% of the purchase price of the house up to $15,000, and the credit would be distributed over a course of two years. This amendment did not end up in the final law. The limit was reduced to $8,000.
Eliminate income limits for the credit. In the current law, the amount of the credit phases out when the taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income is over $75,000 (single) or $150,000 (married) and fully eliminated when income reaches $95,000 or $170,000.
Make the credit available to all home buyers. Home buyers qualify within the “first-time” label if they have not owned a home in the past three years. The current credit is limited to the first-time home buyers, but the new legislation making the rounds would change the rules so any home buyer would receive the credit.
These changes will benefit many people who are deciding whether to buy a house in this market. It should continue to increase activity in the real estate industry and provide more work for real estate agents. It could, however, encourage buyers to spend more for a house than they believe it is truly worth.
Real estate investors (speculators) will also like these new rules for the tax credit if they become part of the law. Overextended consumers and real estate speculators led us to overpriced real estate values, a bubble was formed, and eventually deflated or collapsed. Will these changes to the law, if enacted, just put the real estate industry back into a precarious position or will they put is back on the right path?
A little earlier today, the House of Representatives passed the compromised form of the stimulus bill (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009), and the Senate is expected to pass the stimulus tonight. It won’t be long before the bill is signed into law by President Obama and the appropriated funds are doled out to various programs and other recipients.
The compromise that was worked out by a small committee of Democrats and Republicans behind closed doors is now available in full, although I find it unlikely that all voting members of Congress have read the entire document. If you have the time and the inclination, and you want to read the entire bill, here are the documents.
February 19 update: The White House has now made available the final printed and signed law. Read the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 [pdf] here.
Original February 13 information: Here is the final draft of the bill with proofreading marks before final printing and signing.
Recovery Bill Part A [pdf]
Recovery Bill Part B [pdf]
Part B contains many of the items we’ve been discussing on Consumerism Commentary recently, such as the $400/$800 Working Americans tax credit and the $8,000 tax credit for new homebuyers (reduced from $15,000).
The Senate voted on and passed their version of the 2009 stimulus bill today, but that doesn’t mean homebuyers who stand to receive a tax credit of up to $15,000 should start celebrating yet. The Senate’s version of the bill is somewhat different from the House’s version. For example, the $15,000 credit for all homebuyers does not even exist in the bill that passed the House.
So now, a selection of mostly Democrats from the Senate will meet with the House of Representatives. They will confer and try to hash out a version of the bill that strikes a compromise between both versions. I would expect that some aspects that have been removed from the Senate’s bill, like funding for improvements to K-12 and higher education facilities, to be added back into the final reconciled bill.
The outcome remains to be seen. We won’t know what is included until senators and representatives work out their differences.
Update: The Senate and House of Representatives have both passed the compromise version of the stimulus bill. Read the complete stimulus bill here, and you’ll be a step ahead of many of the congressmen who didn’t have a chance to read it before voting.
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