Uncle Sam has provided for an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, and many in the Sacramento region are hoping that this assistance will help the local real estate market rebound from the foreclosure crisis. Industry watchers point to the fact that Sacramento real estate prices were among the earliest in the nation to start falling in the hopes that they will also be among the first to to stabilize and then increase.

For first-time buyers interested in the tax benefit of buying a home there are some important things to note. First of all, the credit can be used on 2008 or 2009 tax returns on properties purchased between Jan 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009. Second, for home buyers who obtain a loan that is backed by the Federal Housing Administration (a FHA Loan), they can use the money to cover closing costs and some other fees.

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