The National Association of Realtors published this helpful guide for comparing the program that was expiring on November 30th with the one which was just signed by President Obama yesterday.

NAR Issue Brief: Homebuyer Tax Credit

A couple of the highlights include:

• Purchase contracts must be written by April 30, 2010.
• Move-up home buyers are eligible for a $6500 tax credit, providing they meet income limits and occupancy rules.
• First-time home buyers are still eligible for a $8000 tax credit, with income limits.
• Qualifying home prices are capped at $800,000.

I suspect that there are a few home buyers that are breathing a sigh of relief, knowing that they still have time to find a home, make an offer, and close before the extended 2010 deadline. 

And there’s the potential to release a whole new wave of homes for sale.  Homes that have been lived in, where the owners have taken care of them, and will disclose the history of the home to the buyer.  I’ve listed six houses like this in just the past two weeks, and I suspect that I will be hearing from a few more folks who’ve been sitting on the fence, deciding whether the time was right to sell and buy up.

I do have questions:

1. Are move-up home buyers immediately eligible? 
2. What if they have an accepted contract scheduled to closed between today and December 1st? 

UPDATE:

Here’s a link to the actual language of  H.R. 3548: Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009.  The bill appears to extend the dates, so that it appears that a seller who has lived in the current home for five consecutive years, out of the past eight, could get the tax credit for a home purchase as early as Monday.  You will find the Extension and Modification of First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit in Section 11.