Groups call for added homebuyer stimulus

WASHINGTON, June 22 (UPI) -- A tax credit offered first-time U.S. homebuyers scheduled to end this fall should be extended and even expanded, various business groups have said.

The influential Business Roundtable is among the groups backing an expansion of the tax credit, which has a current ceiling of $8,000, USA Today reported Monday.

Last week, the Business Roundtable recommended raising the limit to $15,000 and extending the eligibility "from strictly first-time homebuyers to all homebuyers, regardless of income."

Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., has introduced a bill to do just that. Showing bi-partisan support, Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., has signed on as a co-sponsor of the bill. "It would go a long way toward inducing trade-up buyers into the market," said the Chief Economist at the National Association of Realtors Lawrence Yun.

Real estate agents, naturally, applaud the idea.

"The issue is how do we stimulate the move-up market, and that's essential for the economy," said Richard Smith, chief executive officer of Realogy, which includes Century 21, Coldwell Banker and Sotheby's International Realty.

"I think it's going to be a bipartisan effort," he said. "The issue is how to pay for it."