NAHB: Less than 1 percent in South Carolina take advantage of home buyer tax credit

According to a report by NAHB's Housing Economics Department, less than one percent of South Carolina's tax payers took advantage of the home buyer tax credit that expired in April 2010. The tax credit resulted in stimulus to the housing market in South Carolina of $100 million to $200 million. The top states, clustered in the mountain region of the U.S., included Nevada and Arizona.

South Carolinians were more aggressive regarding the energy efficiency tax credit.  Four to five percent of South Carolina tax payers took advantage of the home buyer tax credit.

Using these data, the tax credit may have raised new home sales by 10% to 20% above the alternative baseline, with the range depending on how many sales were simply accelerated. But as the geographic data above indicates, these gains were likely not evenly spread across the country given the size of the tax credit as a share of local housing prices, the state share of first-time buyers, and the overall level of new home sales and building in each state.

Read the entire report on the Home Buyer Tax Credit at Eye on Housing by clicking here.

Read the entire report on the Energy Efficiency Tax Credit at Eye on Housing by clicking here.