Say goodbye, finally, to hopes of extending that $10,000 tax credit for buyers of new unoccupied homes in California. It's all but dead for this year, says one lobbyist who patrols the state Legislature on behalf of home builders.
"We
were disappointed neither of those bills panned out this year," said Allison Barnett of the California Building Industry Association, a trade group for the residential construction industry.
An Assembly Bill, AB765,
extending the tax credit to 4,300 more buyers failed to pass in the state Senate. A similar Senate bill, SBX3 37 bill failed in
the Assembly as lawmakers
turned their focus to water bills.
"We're
looking for options next year," Barnett said this week. One idea is to
establish a tax credit that a buyer could collect only when a building permit is
issued for his or her new house. Another is to seek an extension for a few more
months. Said Barnett, "We're still looking at details."
Bottom line, buyers of new houses now approaching escrow or signing sales contracts are out of luck in the near term for a state credit. And though there's always next year, it may be a safe bet - considering a new estimated $21 billion hole in the state budget for the next year and a half - that buyers may have seen the last of this one for good.
But check out the federal government's $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit, which has been extended to April 30.
More than 10,600 new-home buyers claimed the $10,000 state tax credit earlier this year.
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