Yesterday, in the final hours of the original deadline to close on a home eligible for the homebuyer tax credits, the Senate voted to extend the closing date by three months to Sept. 30, 2010. The extension only applies to buyers who signed a contract to purchase on or before April 30, 2010.
This is good news for buyers who have had a difficult time closing on their home due to unforeseen circumstances like an delay in escrow, lending or building. The National Association of Realtors estimated that the extension would assist 180,000 buyers who, without the extension of the closing date, would no longer qualify for the tax credit and would be at risk of walking away from their intended purchase.
This was the second time the Senate voted on extending the closing deadline. Late late week, the Senate turned down the a similar measure that was tacked on to the larger American Jobs and Tax Loopholes Act. This time around the measure was added to the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act and was approved by the House on Tuesday then unanimously approved by the Senate on Wednesday. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law today.
Pending Home Sales
This morning, the second major indicator looking at the market after the tax credits’ first deadline (that for signing contracts, which happened on April 30) was released. Pending homes sales, which measure contracts signed, fell 30 percent from April to May and 15.9 percent from May 2009.
Last week we learned that new home sales fell after April 30. Those also measured signed contracts, not closed sales.