Rush to get in on homebuyer tax credit

(NECN: Josh Brogadir) – Is the housing crisis over? Looking at the bidding wars and rush to get a federal tax credit, it sure seems so in Massachusetts. Closing on a home takes time, but the push is on for first time home buyers, hoping to take advantage of low rates and the government’s $8,000 tax credit, with just six weeks left. “Have been renting for awhile, saving my pennies to buy,” said Deamie Estabrook “I’ve looked from condos to single families, to now two families, so it’s kind of all over the place,” said Carolyn Quinn. “We currently both work in the city. We’re renting right now so we’re just looking for something that’s close commute-wise,” said Janet Flaherty. Three different stories of house hunting in what has quickly become a competitive real estate market in Massachusetts – buoyed by the federal government’s first time home buyer $8,000 tax credit – not just a tax break – with a deadline looming of November 30, just six weeks away. At an open house in Milton, we talked to fifty-something year-old Deamie Estabrook, a lifelong renter, who is hoping to buy – and soon. “I’ve really been trying to plug, you know, kind of getting nervous. I’d like to be able to have the opportunity to utilize that $8,000, you know, and maybe get a better house, upgrade it a little bit,” Estabrook said. Carolyn Quinn has been saving – a young single woman who is eager to find a home, but isn’t letting the tax credit force her hand. “People will say, ‘Oh, the tax credit, are you going to buy?’ and I get kind of nervous because I don’t want to jump into something I’m not ready for,” Quinn said. Janet Flaherty and her husband T.J. Dye have already looked at 50 houses, got in a bidding war, and lost. “It’s kind of been a roller coaster ride. You find something and things don’t pan out,” Dye said. “In September, it was like crazy, because everyone was kind of feeling that two month crunch where you had to have your house to get the tax credit by the end of November,” Flaherty said. Who knows if any of these three potential buyers will make an offer on this house in Milton – or if, as first time home buyers, they’ll be able to get the tax credit in time. We asked if it is realistic to think that these people can close and be all set by the deadline. “Mortgage brokers are still telling us they can get the job done. They’re working ’round the clock. The appraisers, everybody, are just running on full speed,” said RE/Max Landmark realtor Laura Cahill. In terms of the overall housing market, in the words of Cahill, what a difference a year makes. “Right now, it’s about as busy as it was in 2005. I mean we just can’t keep up with the business, it’s crazy. The market’s crazy right now,” Cahill said. All three prospective home buyers and Cahill said they hope the government extends the tax credit beyond November 30, as a way to further bolster the housing market that at this time last year, was hurting. Cahill does not think home buyers are getting in over their heads just to try to get the tax credit in time. She said, even if there are many buyers out there, they are, by and large, more conservative – especially because the housing bubble burst such a short time ago.