Homebuyer Tax Credits Closing Deadline Could be Extended

After hearing from the real estate industry that many homebuyers who signed contracts earlier this year in the hopes of receiving the homebuyer tax credits are having trouble closing their transactions, the Senate today voted to extend the deadline for closing until the end of September, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.




To qualify for the $8,000 first-time or the $6,500 repeat buyer tax credits, buyers must have signed a contract by the end of April 2010, and originally had to close by the end of June. But the National Association of Realtors reported that 180,000 buyers are in danger of failing to close by that deadline.



The provision that would extend the tax credit will be added to a bill that would extend unemployment benefits, the Sun Sentinel reported, and the entire bill will have to be voted on by both the House and the Senate.



The tax credit has been somewhat controversial, with Zillow’s own Chief Economist Stan Humphries asserting that it didn’t “save our bacon,” but instead stole demand from later this summer.

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