The Obama administration has not yet decided whether it should bring back a popular tax credit for first-time homebuyers, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said on Sunday.
"It's too early to say whether the tax credit will be revived," Donovan said in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" program. He said the administration would "do everything we can" to stabilize the shaky U.S. housing market.
The analysis is based on the previous federal $8,000 homebuyer tax credit that boosted home sales reviving parts of the housing market. This credit expired several months ago, and things started going down.
The unexpectedly large drop in U.S. home sales in July has brought back fears that the nation could be on the cusp of another sharp drop in housing.
Donovan acknowledged that the data was worse than the Obama administration expected but said the government was already taking measures, including rolling out a refinancing program for some borrowers and an emergency loan program for the unemployed.
Some believe that bringing back the tax credit would help improve the current housing situation. However, those that oppose this idea, say it would blow a bigger hole in the federal deficit.
"I think it would help enormously," Florida Governor Charlie Crist, who is running as an independent for the U.S. Senate in the November elections, told CNN. "I would absolutely encourage the president to support that." His opinion was supported by U.S. Representative Kendrick Meek, a Florida Democrat, who said he also supported reviving the tax credit.
Last month, Obama signed a law giving consumers already in the process of buying a home three extra months to close the deal and still get the tax credit.
This means that homebuyers with contracts signed by April 30 who failed to go to closing by the original June 30 deadline will now have until September 30 to complete their purchases.
Labels: Georgia homes, Home, Home Buyers, home buying, homes, homestead tax relief grant program, tax credit
# posted by
Brian Vanderhoff @ 10:41 AM
