Early in November the talk of the real estate market was the first time home buyer tax credit extension.  The original bill expired on November 30th, 2009.  This expiration was for all of those who closed on their homes so in essence you would have had to start the home buying process between 35 and 45 days prior to November 30th to guarantee that you could close by the expiration date and get your $8000 check.

Due to the fact that first time home buyers were afraid this extension would end, the months of October and November were not as strong for mortgage applications.  After Washington extended the first time home buyer tax credit until April 2010 we, once again, saw a surge in mortgage applications and many housing markets are seeing a stablization or increase in home prices.  There is little argument that this tax credit has definitely helped the overall housing market.

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