Builders Find Buyer Interest In Tax Credits

NATIONAL NEWS - In the early weeks following enactment of a $7,500 tax credit for first-time home buyers, builders and home builders associations across the country have been moving quickly to promote the new financial benefit and spur sales in their local markets.

Centex, whose business specializes in first-time home buyers, reported encouraging results from a survey of 25- to 65-year-olds who had not owned a home in the past three years. Seventy-five percent of those responding said they thought that the home-buyer tax assistance effort was a good idea, and more than half said they were likely to buy a home with the availability of the credit. "First-time home buyers can help bring back stabilization in the market," said Tim Eller, chairman and CEO of Centex. "It's a very large cohort, and they can have a big impact."

Eller told the news media that he knows first-hand that the stimulus works, because he actually used a similar tax credit to purchase his first-home in 1974. "In fact, I could not have afforded to buy it had it not been for that tax credit at that time," he said.

As soon as H.R. 3221, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, became law, Centex immediately provided materials and training to its division leaders and sales counselors, encouraging them to make customers aware of the tax credit.

The company's promotion includes marketing materials for its prospective customers that are being delivered primarily on its Web site and by e-mail. Centex has also been reaching out to its recent customers to make them aware of the availability of the tax credit, which can be taken by those who closed on the sale of a home on or after April 9. Buyers must close on a home before July 1, 2009 to be eligible for the credit.

KB Home and Lennar are among the many builders who are directing their customers to the extensive information available on NAHB's special Web site on the credit — www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com. In its first two weeks of operation, the site has drawn an average of 10,000 visitors per day, a strong indication of consumer interest in the tax provision. "The initial response is encouraging," said NAHB President Sandy Dunn. "This could be the trigger that helps move prospective first-time buyers off the fence and back into the market."

With the government tax-credit in hand, KB Home is advertising on its Web site that, "There's never been a better time to buy." Home builders associations are promoting the NAHB site to their members, so they can direct their customers to the information it contains.