Want Your $8,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit? Better Hurry....

Home buyers looking for a handout from the government have less than three weeks to get busy.

First-time buyers can receive $8,000 tax credits if they sign sales contracts by April 30 and close by June 30. Existing homeowners who want to buy new principal residences will get $6,500.

The trade group Florida Realtors is holding its first statewide open house this weekend to promote sales by the end of April

The Orlando-based group estimates at least 10,000 homes from the Panhandle to Key West will participate in the event.

Janet Russell, an agent for Prudential Florida Realty who hopes to sell a four-bedroom Boca Raton house for $534,000, states:
"I think this is a great idea, and it helps the buyers. If you have 20 or 30 homes in an area all having open houses, buyers really get a chance to see what the market is like."

In recent years, more buyers have been searching for homes on the internet, therefore causing open houses to decrease in popularity.

"Open houses did lose their luster for a while, but I do believe they're making a comeback," said Better Homes & Gardens agent Maggie Dunne, who has a Fort Lauderdale listing in the statewide event. "I'm looking for a pretty good turnout."

Recent home sales in South Florida have been decent, but unspectacular. Broward and Palm Beach counties saw modest sales gains in February compared with a year ago.

Housing analysts say the sales surge occurred last fall when first-time buyers thought the $8,000 credit would expire Nov. 30. The government extended the credit and added a new one, but most experts don't predict another extension.

Scott Agran, president of Lang Realty in Boca Raton, states:
"While people know the credits are still around, they don't seem to have that same call to action." 

Still, the $8,000 credit has pushed about 900,000 additional buyers into the market, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. Those buyers have helped stabilize prices, he added.

"It is laying the foundation for more normal housing market conditions," Yun said, "and helping assure that we have a sustainable economic recovery as homeowners don't see further destruction of their wealth."