Home buyer tax credit may be extended

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - If you're looking to buy a new home, your chance of grabbing the $8,000 tax credit is ending.

However, you may be in luck as an extension to the first-time home buyer tax credit may be on the way. With the tax credit set to end Dec. 1, local realtors are hoping it sticks around.

The number of homes sold in Vigo County is still down, but realtors said it could have been a whole lot worse.

Bert Williams of Williams Realtors said sales are off about 12 percent from what realtors saw last year.

However, with this $8,000 tax credit, Williams said about a third of the sales made were first-time home buyers taking advantage of that tax credit.

With the proposed extension on the table that would run through next April, Williams said it would give the Wabash Valley housing market an additional 5 months to recover.

"I think that it's helped our market, that if we didn't have the $8,000 stimulus, our market would not be as recovered as it is," Williams said.

The Senate has agreed to pass the extension, but Congress still has to vote on it and that could be as early as Tuesday night.

A companion proposal is also being discussed which allows a $6,000 tax credit to any person buying a home.