First-Time Buyer Tax Credit Already Deemed a Success

Preliminary figures from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) show that the first-time buyer tax credit may have been a deal maker in 10 percent of the approximately 5 million new- and existing-home sales last year.

By March 6, 2009 — six weeks prior to when 2008 returns were due — 567,685 taxpayers had claimed more than $3.9 billion worth of first-time buyer tax credits on their 2008 tax returns, according to Steve Cook of the real estate Web site RealEstateEconomyWatch.com. Given that pace, the final figure should exceed the dollar value of the credits estimated by Congress last year.

With the more attractive $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit still available for transactions that close before Dec. 1, 2009, it is expected that the tax credit will continue to be a major factor in the housing recovery currently underway.