Home Buyer Tax Credit Will Create 255,000 Jobs, NAHB Study Shows

February 11, 2009

WASHINGTON,DC – February 11, 2009 – The $15,000 home buyer tax credit, which is an integral part of the economic stimulus legislation adopted yesterday by the Senate, will result in nearly 500,000 additional home sales and create 255,000 new jobs in the year ahead, according to research conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). 

The tax credit will get prospective buyers back into the housing market on the day the bill is signed and stimulate activity throughout the economy, said NAHB President and CEO Jerry Howard.
 
Increasing home sales, Howard added, will help to stabilize home values, slow the rate of foreclosures and shore up mortgage portfolios held by financial institutions, all of which will bolster confidence generally and trigger even more economic activity.

In addition to the 255,000 jobs created during the first year, NAHB estimates that the additional half million home sales will generate:

  • $12.3 billion in wages and salaries,
  • $9.7 billion in net business income,
  • $6.6 billion in federal taxes, and
  • $2.1 billion in state and local taxes. 

But the ripple and multiplier effect doesn’t stop there. NAHB research shows that the tax credit would result in $7.4 billion in economic activity outside the construction sector, including $4 billion in broker services, $2.5 billion in spending related to sales transactions and $350 million in spending for property improvements.


ABOUT NAHB:

The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing more than 200,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. Known as the voice of the housing industry, NAHB is affiliated with more than 800 state and local home builders
associations around the country. NAHB’s builder members will construct about 80 percent of the new housing units projected for 2009.