WKRN, Nashville, Tennessee News, Weather, and Sports |Local realtors trace increased sales to housing tax credit

Local realtors trace increased sales to housing tax credit

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Nashville area realtors aren't saying the housing slump in Middle Tennessee is over but are touting good news for the first time in a long time.

There were 2,145 homes closings in October, up 22.7% over October 2008.

It’s the first such monthly comparison increase since October 2006 and realtors point to the first-time home buyer tax credit of $8,000 as the reason why.

"The tax credit is a huge benefit," said Susan McIntyre, a first time buyer who is just about to close on a home in the Sylvan Park area of Nashville.

She's considered typical of the kind of young professional in the Nashville area who took advantage of the federal $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers.

"The tax credit, I think, is a big instigator, and then we are all at the point in our lives where it’s time to start thinking about home ownership," said McIntyre, who is Development Director for Major Gifts with the Nashville Opera.

Like buyers, realtors point to the federal tax credit.

"There is no question it’s had an effect with a deadline attached to it," said Mike Nichols, President of the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors.

"One month is not going to make us come back," he continued, citing figures that also show year-to-date home closings are down 18.4% compared to the same period of 2008.

Nichols thinks the recent extension of the tax credit to more than first time buyers could bode well for future sales. 

"And now, move up buyers who have lived in their home for at least five years have the opportunity to take advantage of the $6,500 tax credit until April,” he said.

The $8,000 credit for first time buyers has also been extended to April 30, 2010.