A $10,000 state tax credit that has proved more popular than expected with buyers of new unoccupied homes may be greatly expanded. California homebuilders have sponsored AB765 by Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, and Assemblyman Jose Solorio, D-Santa Ana, to expand the $100 million allocation that went into effect on March 1 to $300 million.
Builders are hoping to see the law passed "within weeks." Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't committing himself to anything before it lands on his desk. But a spokeswoman said today that he "aggressively pushed for the (original) $10,000 credit in the budget and always wants to explore ways to stimulate the California economy and promote homebuying."
Builders and the lawmakers carrying the bill say a $10,000 tax credit pays $16,000 in revenue to the state treasury and $3,000 to a local goverment. That comes from this 2007 study for the California Homebuilding Foundation, "The Housing Bottom Line."
Also, here is
I also made a request to California's Franchise Tax Board - which keeps an excellent Web site on all you need to know about the tax credit - about which geographical regions were heavy with applications so far. They sent this data this afternoon:
"Below are the ten cities for which we have received the most New Home
Credit Applications through last week. Keep in mind that these
numbers are overstated. Since we have just begun processing the applications, these numbers include duplicates, revisions, and invalid applications. The numbers are not for metropolitan areas, only for applications showing the property address with that actual city name."
City # of Applications
FRESNO 229
BAKERSFIELD 197
SAN JOSE 169
LOS ANGELES 169
SAN FRANCISCO 162
SACRAMENTO 139
ROSEVILLE 138
SAN DIEGO 131
CORONA 128
CLOVIS 92
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