Update13: Poll Results: Extend the Homebuyer Tax Credit Again!
by Tim Manni
-Be sure to read about our mention in MarketWatch.com-
Update13: The votes keep coming — we’re up to 4,674 votes! Here are our current results:
Loading ...**Should the homebuyer tax credit’s closing deadline be extended?**
**Vote Now**
Original Post (published 04/09/10): We started a poll back on March 30 asking readers if they were depending on the homebuyer tax credit to be extended for a second time. The results are in: (as of 1:30 p.m. 04/09/10) 93% of you said you’re depending on the homebuyer tax credit to be extended again!
While there’s still no official word from lawmakers over whether or not the tax credit will receive its second extension, the results of our poll speak for themselves. Our poll indicated that only 6% of you thought it was time for the homebuyer tax credit to end, and only 1% expressed that you “couldn’t care less.”
With the credit slated for expiry at the end of April (contracts must be signed by April 30, and borrowers must close their deals by June 30), the approaching deadline seems to be increasing homebuyer activity.
Pending home sales rose 8.2% in February, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), “potentially signaling a second surge of home sales in response to the home buyer tax credit.”
February’s existing home sales, while “higher than year-ago levels for eight straight months,” declined slightly from January, proof that housing recovery remains fragile, says the NAR.
“The key test for a durable recovery comes in the next few months as the tax credit deadline approaches,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “If we see a surge in home buying comparable to last fall in the months leading up to the original tax credit deadline, then enough inventory should be absorbed to ensure a broad home price stabilization.”
With mechanisms in place to keep mortgage rates low for the time being, our poll makes it clear that potential homebuyers are still counting on the tax credit to incentivize their decision to purchase.
As the economy and credit conditions continue to improve and as private investors return to the mortgage market, mortgage rates will probably begin to firm. If industry leaders like the NAR are still classifying the housing market’s recovery as “fragile,” and if 93% of you are depending on the tax credit to continue, lawmakers should listen.
We want to extend a huge thanks to all those who voted on the tax credit poll. This poll received more than double the votes than all the other blog.HSH.com polls combined!
We’ll keep the poll open until the deadline or until we get an extension.
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