Awhile back Congress came up with a great idea for stimulating the housing market: provide a $7500 tax credit for 1st time homebuyers (read ‘have not owned a home the previous three years’), but make that homebuyer have to pay back the tax credit over the next 15 years. That credit went active and homebuying went up. When it came time for that program to end, a second tax credit stimulation was launched that was even better. The credit increased to $8000 and it became a true credit; the homebuyer did not have to pay it back. When time came for that to go away, Congress extended it and added a bonus. If someone already owned a home and bought another, let that homebuyer have a $6500 tax credit.

Guess what?  Homes kept selling, and many homes at the starter end of the spectrum even got multiple offers. Sales continued fairly brisk right through the normal winter slowdown. Well, the end of the tax credit incentives is in sight. They are scheduled to go away April 30, the deadline to have an accepted offer in hand, and the property must close by June 30. What will really happen is anyone’s guess at this point.

However, as a seller you should be using the expectation of the tax credit program ending as a motivation for anyone considering your home. Do your flyers communicate that the homebuyer tax credit applies to a purchase of your home? They should, and now they should be alerting your prospective buyers that the program is scheduled to go away in just a few more weeks, and those buyers need your approval to their offer very soon.