Q&A with Steve Barnes: Deployed military members still can get home-buyers tax credits

Today__8217__s Q&A is with Steve Barnes, homebuilder, residential developer and owner of The Barnes Group Inc. in Lawton.

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Published: May 4, 2010

Deployed military members still can get home-buyers tax credits

Q: The federal tax credits for homeowners have expired. Or have they? What are the details for people in military service?

A: The law provides only qualified service members who served on official extended duty outside of the United States for 90 days or more at any time between Jan. 1, 2009, to April 30, 2010, another year to buy a home and claim the credit. They have until April 30, 2011, to sign a sales contract, and until June 30, 2011, to settle and close on the home. Both the $8,000 first-time and $6,500 repeat homebuyer tax credits are included. "Qualified service members” are defined as members of the uniformed services of the United States military, members of the Foreign Service of the United States, or employees of the intelligence community. The National Association of Home Builders provides information on the homebuyer tax credit, including eligibility requirements and links to home-buying resources, on its consumer website www.FederalHousingTaxCredit.com.

Q: How much of a difference do you think that it will have in Lawton-Fort Sill?

A: Our market has a very high percentage of military personnel. The extension of the tax credits will be a very positive influence on those buyers who still qualify. Living in Lawton and watching the tremendous number of troops being deployed and returned from Fort Sill indicates there are many persons who qualify for the extended tax credits.

Q: What kind of impact have the tax credits in general had in southwest Oklahoma?

A: Lawton and Comanche County home sales have been higher due to the two tax credits available to many of the buyers. Some Realtors have estimated that 20 to 25 percent of total sales in the past two to three months had taken advantage of the tax credits.

Q: Now what? What’s your outlook for the rest of 2010?

A: The Base Realignment and Closure influence, plus the general improvement of the nation’s economy, continue to be a favorable influence for our new homebuyers. 2010 is going to firm up with increased new home sales through the end of the year. The number of active new-construction homes for sale jumped 11 percent, but the number of new-construction homes under contract and sold the past six months, for the most part, stayed the same. But what has changed is where they have closed. Inside the city limits of Lawton, the number of sold homes the past six months have dropped about 15 percent and outside the city limits have jumped about 24 percent.

RICHARD MIZE, Real Estate Editor