The House voted 403-12 today to pass a bill that would extend the current first-time homebuyer tax credit, and add a provision allowing up to $6,500 for existing home owners of at least five years who purchase by April 30, 2010.
The bill now is in its final stage of passage, requiring only a signature from President Obama to become effective, following yesterday's 98-0 passing vote by the Senate. The President's signature is expected to come no later than tomorrow.
There are a few sites out there that have done a great job at reporting this story, so I won't try and reinvent the wheel. Check out Jay Thompson's blog for more details. Jay might have done the best job I've seen of covering this story from the start. Inman News has also reported on the story here.
The bill has sparked a significant amount of controversy due to its excessive nature. While the existing first-time homebuyer tax credit helped improve real estate sales, a large percentage of those are estimated to have occured regardless of the bill, making the purchases that weren't estimated to have occured all the more costly for the government (read: tax dollars).
Either way, it appears close to becomming effective at this point, and could continue to help improve real estate sales as we approach what is traditionally the slow point of the year.
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