There has been some debate lately centered around the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit and if Congress will extend it prior to its scheduled expiration on Nov 30th of this year. The Chicago Tribune ran an article a few days ago discussing the odds of the program being extended. My thoughts are that Congress will extend it for a number of reasons:
- While housing numbers have been getting better, they still have a long way to go before they are even close to anything approaching a "normal" level.
- The typical first time home buyer feels left out of the huge gov't bail out package (no TARP money, no tax relief, no wall Street bonus). The FTHBTC allows millions of Americans to feel like they are getting some relief and not all of the gov't spending is going only towards large institutions.
- The US economy is not out of the woods. While the stock market has been on a run lately, many of my friends who work on Wall Street feel as though we are in for a major pull back, very possibly in September (Sept has traditionally been a tough month for equity markets). If the stock market has another major correction, consumer confidence and spending will tank right along with it.
- Politicians like to get elected. By extending the FTHBTC, many voters will be very happy with their elected officials.
I am very much a proponent of the free market, but I also am a believer in Keynesian economics in times of economic crisis. While I believe that we as a nation will have a very large debt hangover to deal with in the years ahead, I think that the future will be much bleaker if the the economy does not continue to receive support from the Federal government.
Rich Bouchner
Managing Director
Commodore Property Group
Commodore Property Group's home page: www.cpg-nyc.com
My blog: www.gotham-realestate.com
Current Listings: CPG's Current listings
I am the owner of Commodore Property Group. l live in Harlem and work through out all of New York City. If you are looking for a condo, coop or brownstone in Harlem or any section of Manhattan or Brooklyn, please feel free to contact me.
