CENTRAL OHIO -- First-time home buyers looking to save money are picking up the pace of their housing searches.
The clock is ticking down on the government's $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers as the credit expires November 30.
The credit covers 10 percent of a home's value, as much as $8,000, and does not have to be repaid.
The credit has made a difference in the Clintonville area, where realtor Cindy Dunigan said first-time buyers now account for 90 percent of her clients.
"With each first-time buyer, you get at least one, possibly two sales," Dunigan said. "Nothing's free in this world and this is free. This is one of the few things that's free."
The credit may be free to the buyer, but not to taxpayers. It appears to be working by motivating buyers who might be on the fence to stop waiting and it's even helped homeowners sell off and trade up.
Local realtor Judy Minister said, as a result, first-time buyers now dominate her business.
“It has definitely worked. In the month of June, I sold six homes, and four of the six were first-time buyers,” Minister said.
Minister said she does not see the need for a $15,000 tax credit that has been sought by the National Association of Realtors.
She said the bill to taxpayers would be too much.
In order to use the credit, Dunigan said buyers should be in the process of purchasing by late October at the latest.
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