Tax credit for home buyers set to expire this week

April - 25 - 2010 Author: Elizabeth Moore Respond

BY FRANCINE KNOWLES fknowles@suntimes.com

The deadline for home buyers to take advantage of federal government home buyer tax credits is coming this week.

To take advantage of the federal government tax credit program, worth up to $8,000, home buyers must sign purchase agreements by Friday and close on their homes by June 30.

» Click to enlarge image A sign announces a residential home sale is pending in Boston.
(AP File)

First-time home buyers or anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the last three years are eligible for up to $8,000 in tax credits under the government program, while buyers who owned their current homes at least five years are eligible for tax credits of up to $6,500. The credits phase out for individuals with incomes between $125,000 and $145,000 and for joint filers with incomes between $225,000 and $245,000.

According to the most recent data from the Illinois Association of Realtors, home sales in the city of Chicago spiked 49.7 percent in March and 45.4 percent in the area over a year ago as home buyers took advantage of the government tax credits.

The program has been so successful, Coldwell Banker real estate brokerage is offering its own home buyers credit program. Coldwell said that in a survey of its agents, 34 percent cited the federal government home buyers tax credit program as the primary reason their customers are searching for a home.

On May 1, home sellers participating in the Coldwell Banker “Buyer Bonus Sales Event” will offer a credit of 3 percent, up to $8,000, of their home’s purchase price to buyers who sign a contract before July 31, 2010.

Coldwell Banker’s program has no income restrictions and there is no deadline closing date.

Amid signs of improvement in the housing market, Coldwell Banker is seeking to prevent sales from stalling.

“The goal of the national Coldwell Banker Buyer Bonus event is to build momentum that was started by the federal government,” said Jim McEneaney, senior vice president and regional manager for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Chicago. “We’re trying to . . . keep buyers interested.”

Eighty home sellers in the Chicago metropolitan area with homes currently on the market have signed up for the Coldwell Banker program so far, according to a spokesman.

Participating home sellers in the program will be identified by Buyer Bonus Sales Event yard signs and tagged online at www.cold wellbankeronline.com.

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