There’s no serious talk of reinstating the homebuyer tax credit, the White House and real estate industry trade groups say, quashing speculation that followed statements Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan made on a Sunday morning news show.

Appearing on CNN’s "State of the Union" on Aug. 29, Donovan said July’s housing sales numbers were worse than expected. The Obama administration was rolling out a new FHA refinancing program targeted at underwater borrowers, he said, and an emergency loan program aimed at helping unemployed borrowers keep their homes.

There’s no serious talk of reinstating the homebuyer tax credit, the White House and real estate industry trade groups say, quashing speculation that followed statements Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan made on a Sunday morning news show.

Appearing on CNN’s "State of the Union" on Aug. 29, Donovan said July’s housing sales numbers were worse than expected. The Obama administration was rolling out a new FHA refinancing program targeted at underwater borrowers, he said, and an emergency loan program aimed at helping unemployed borrowers keep their homes.

Pressed by host Ed Henry on whether the administration was also considering reviving the homebuyer tax credit "to try to prop this industry up," Donovan said, "I think it’s too early to say after one month of numbers whether the tax credit will be revived or not. All I can tell you is that we are watching very carefully."

In extending the tax credit for a third time last fall, lawmakers warned that they would not do so again. But Donovan’s remarks suggested that the strategy might come back into play.

Two other guests on the show, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Fla., candidates for U.S. Senate in November, said they’d welcome a restoration of the homebuyer tax credit program.

Three days later, Donovan clarified that bringing back the tax credit "is not high on anyone’s list that we have heard," Reuters reported. "We have not heard Congress talking about renewing it."

Donovan also told Reuters that the Federal Housing Administration’s refinance program was "something that we have talked about before, so it wasn’t any new program."

FHA announced the FHA Short Refinance program in March, and released guidance to lenders on Aug. 6 for a Sept. 7 launch.

As for resurrecting the homebuyer tax credit, neither the National Association of Realtors nor the National Association of Home Builders — industry groups who lobbied hard for its extension last fall — want to see it come back now that it’s expired, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Before the tax credit expired, NAR was reportedly lobbying for it to be extended through the end of the year, and an issue summary posted on the association’s website still states that as the group’s position.

There’s been considerable debate about whether the credit — three different versions of which were in place between April 9, 2008, and June 30, 2010 — was worth an estimated $22 billion loss in revenue through 2019.

While more than 2.25 million homebuyers had claimed the credit in its various forms as of July 3, some critics say many of them would have bought a home anyway, and that the tax credit spurred only a fraction of those transactions.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report Thursday analyzing the number of claims received by state to date and the estimated dollar amounts of those claims. Claims topped $1 billion in California, Texas and Florida, and amounted to less than $50 million in less populous states like Vermont, Alaska, Hawaii, Delaware and North Dakota.

Top 10 states for homebuyer tax credit claims

State

Claims

Dollar amount

California

261,302

$1.95 billion

Texas

190,979

$1.39 billion

Florida

149,066

$1.08 billion

Illinois

84,559

$601 million

Pennsylvania

83,627

$591 million

New York

81,867

$579 million

Michigan

84,992

$538 million

Georgia

74,210

$538 million

Ohio

77,083

$530 million

North Carolina

67,026

$494 million

Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office

 

 

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
Only 3 days left to register for Inman Connect Las Vegas before prices go up! Don't miss the premier event for real estate pros.Register Now ×
Limited Time Offer: Get 1 year of Inman Select for $199SUBSCRIBE×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×