Letter To The Honorable Speaker Pelosi And The Honorable Minority Leader Boehner

Letter

U.S. Representative John Boccieri (D-Alliance) recently joined nearly 165 of his House colleagues in a bipartisan letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Boehner, insisting an extension of the $8,000 first time homebuyer tax credit, originally included in the Recovery Package earlier this year.

The Homebuyer Tax Credit, expanded in February 2009, helped contribute to an increase in home sales and signs of economic stabilization this year. In fact, in September, the Campbell Institute released a study concluding the tax credit contributed to 357,000 home sales between February and September of this year.

In their letter, the Members write, "While these are positive signs for the housing market, the reality is that it remains extremely fragile. Home prices still remain 15 percent lower than a year ago and first-time homebuyers continue to make up a third of all buyers. At a time when billions are being offered to troubled financial institutions and mortgage rates remain borrower friendly, nothing is restoring confidence in the market like the first-time homebuyer tax credit."

Further the Members wrote, "While many of us have our own ideas of how to expand the homebuyer tax credit, we can all agree that action is urgently needed on the credit before it expires at the end of November."

***Full text of the letter Boccieri signed is below.***

October 21, 2009

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable John Boehner
Minority Leader
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Boehner,

We write you today in bipartisan agreement that the homebuyer tax credit should be extended. The federal government has pursued many avenues to ensure our economy can recover from the worst recession of our lives. Few efforts, however, have been as successful as the incentive given to first-time homebuyers.

Since the tax credit was expanded in Febuary, we have seen house sales rise and glimpses of price stabilization. From April through July, we saw three straight months of rising prices of single family homes. The number of home sales rose 11 percent from May to June, the largest gain in eight years. In September, conservative economist Mark Zandi predicted the tax credit will contribute to 400,000 home sales and the Campbell Institute released a study concluding the tax credit contributed to 357,000 home sales between February and September of this year.

While these are positive signs for the housing market, the reality is that it remains extremely fragile. Home prices still remain 15 percent lower than a year ago and first-time homebuyers continue to make up a third of all buyers. At a time when billions are being offered to troubled finacial institutions and mortage rates remain borrower freindly, nothing is restoring confidence in the market like the first-time homebuyer tax credit. Yet, with an average closing time of three months, many potential homebyers are nearly out of time to use the credit -- and an extension is needed for the credit to maximize its impact for both homebuyers and our housing market.

While many of us have our own ideas of how to improve or expand the homebuyer tax credit, we can all agree that action is urgently needed on the credit before it expires at the end of November. As the House leadership prioritizes legislative action on provisions that will expire this year, we ask that you give full considratin to the homebuyer tax credit. We look forward to working with you to stabilize our nation's housing maket and strengthen our economy.

Sincerely,
Members of Congress

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