The federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers is set to expire November 30, 2009. According to the National Association of Realtors, since its inception earlier this year, the tax credit has brought 1.2 million new buyers into the market nationwide. In Indiana, nearly 60 percent of first-time homebuyers reported they would not have purchased a home without the tax credit.

At this time it seems likely that the U.S. Senate will approve a deal to extend the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, but early optimism the program might be extended for all home buyers is not going to happen. The proposal in the Senate that appears to have the most likelihood of passage would extend the $8,000 credit through March 31. Then its value would drop by $2,000 for each of the subsequent three quarters of 2010. This plan was offered by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat