FIND YOUR UP TO DATE Home Buyer's Credit Information

 Washington, July 01, 2010

The National Association of Realtors® today commended Congress for timely passage of two bills to extend the home buyer tax credit closing deadline and reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program. Both bills, strongly supported by NAR, had cleared the House earlier and were passed by the Senate last night. They now head to the president for his signature.

The tax credit closing deadline and the NFIP reauthorization were extended to September 30. NAR worked closely with congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle to enact these important pieces of legislation. Extending the tax credit closing and flood insurance deadlines will help provide additional stability to real estate markets across the nation, NAR said.

“What a great way to begin celebrating our nation’s most patriotic holiday by opening the door to the American dream of homeownership to thousands of home buyers who would have been shut out of the homes of their dreams through no fault of their own,” said NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox Real Estate in Tucson, Ariz.

“We know that up to 180,000 home buyers eligible for the tax credit are rejoicing this morning. And we all thank both houses of Congress for their work to ensure passage of both bills,” Golder said. She singled out Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) and Congressman Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) for their efforts to extend the tax credit closing deadline.

The passage of H.R. 5623, the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act, applies the homebuyer tax credit closing deadline extension only to homebuyers who have ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010, but could not close before June 30. The legislation is designed to create a seamless extension of the new closing deadline for eligible transactions to September 30. There will be no gap between June 30 and the date the president signs the bill into law.

For more information on the extension, visit www.realtor.org/government_affairs.

Senate passage of the National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 5569), reauthorizes extension the NFIP until September 30, allowing currently stalled transactions to move forward. The bill is retroactive and covers the lapsed period from June 1, 2010, to the date of enactment of the extension. Any new policy applications or renewals that were signed and submitted during the lapsed period will be effective from the date of application. In the case of waiting periods, the waiting period will start from the date of application.

“We know that thousands of property owners seeking flood insurance policies will now be able to close transactions. NAR appreciates the extraordinary efforts in both houses of Congress to end the lapse in flood insurance,” Golder said. She singled out Senate Majority Leader Reid, Senate Minority Leader McConnell, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Dodd, Senator David Vitter (R-La.), House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) for their efforts on NFIP reauthorization.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

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Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org. This and other news releases are posted in the News Media section.

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Senate approves extension to qualify for homebuyer tax credit
By Jay Heflin - 06/16/10 03:16 PM ET

The proposal pushes the closing deadline back to Sept. 30, 2010, from the previous June 30 deadline.

By a 60-37 vote, the Senate on Wednesday approved a measure extending the closing deadline for qualifying for the homebuyer tax credit.

The proposal is expected to be added to a slimmed-down tax extenders bill that Senate Democratic leaders are expected to unveil Wednesday.

To qualify for the credit, homebuyers have until June 30 to close on the purchase. The proposal pushes the closing deadline back to Sept. 30, 2010.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) authored the proposal.

 
The senator from Georgia tried but failed to offset the amendment's cost with unspent stimulus dollars. His proposal failed by a 45-52 vote.
The proposal that is expected to be added to the extender bill is offset by denying the tax deduction for certain punitive damages, which raises $315 million over 10 years.

The cost for extending the closing date is $140 million, which means the provision reduces the deficit by $175 million over 10 years.
Congress originally passed an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers as part of the stimulus bill President Barack Obama signed into law in February of 2009.

Lawmakers extended and expanded the measure last November to include a $6,500 tax credit for buyers who have already owned a home. Both of these measures expired at the end of April for buyers that enter into a contract to purchase a home. Wednesday's measure only extends the cut off date for closing on the property.