Tampa Bay Real Estate Purchases Made as Tax Credit Comes to a Close

Tampa Bay area real estate buyers, agents and sellers worked feverishly to meet the demands of first-time home buyers and move-up/repeat home buyers as they raced to beat the April 30th deadline to get a binding contract in place. The good news was not just for home buyers who were able to meet the deadline to earn the tax credit, but also for sellers who were able to benefit from this opportunity. With so many people eager to place an offer on a home, many sellers found themselves in a unique position of receiving multiple offers and dealing with bidding wars. This, of course is in contrast to an otherwise difficult market for sellers as buyers have been in the driver’s seat for a few years now.

The tax credit was an extension of the original first-time home buyer tax credit which was enacted in February of 2009. The original deadline for first-time home buyers was November 30, 2009, but that deadline was extended to April 30, 2010. Additionally, a separate credit was enacted for move-up/repeat home buyers. Both groups were required to have signed contracts in place by April 30th to enjoy the benefits of this generous tax credit.

The real estate market in the Tampa Bay area, as well as other areas across the nation, will benefit from this flurry of activity. Time’s article of May 2nd titled Real Estate Agents, Buyers Cut Deals for Tax Credit reported that “The tax credit, which through February had cost the U.S. Treasury more than $12 billion, appears to have helped kick-start the housing market by spurring many renters to make the leap. Forty-four percent of sales right now are first-time buyers,” said Walter Molony, spokesman for the National Association of Realtors.

As the dust settles, it will be interesting to see the overall affect of the tax credit and how it contributed to the stabilization of the real estate housing market. With so many homes purchased, real estate inventory somewhat depleted, it should only stand to reason that there will be positive news for the real estate sector in the overall scheme of things. Let’s see what happens!

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