In today’s HousingWire Daily episode, HW+ Managing Editor Brena Nath joins HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler to discuss the hottest topics coming across HousingWire’s news desk. In this episode, the pair review President Joe Biden’s proposed stimulus package and the potential impact of his $15,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit.
For some background on the interview, here’s a brief summary of HousingWire’s coverage of Biden’s proposed $15,000 homebuyer tax credit:
The housing industry is keeping a close eye on the Biden administration’s proposal of a $15,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit. If passed, the funds could be accessed immediately by the buyer at the closing table. Biden’s tax credit is more of a possibility now that both Senate races in Georgia went to Democrats.
Ralph DiBugnara, president of Home Qualified and senior vice president at Cardinal Financial, sees an obvious positive impact of the tax credit, but is still wary of parts of the bill, which includes an increased rate on long term capital gains.
“The real estate market is so hot that hurting investors now may not have a big effect, but long term it could cause major issues,” DiBugnara said. “Real estate Investors tend to buy more real estate in even in bad markets as a long-term strategy. If it becomes more expensive for them to do so, because of taxes, I believe some will shift strategies long term so when market cools there will be a lot less of them to support home buying.”
Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, thinks Biden’s homebuyer tax credit will need to get support from 60 senators — a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate — if Democrats choose not to use budget reconciliation. And, the possibility certainly exists that Republicans will ask for a smaller credit number.
