For the Journal

Area Realtors say that a new refundable tax credit offered to first-time home buyers has the potential to shift the local housing market in favor of sellers by this summer.

"This summer could turn into a sellers' market very easily because the housing inventory and interest rates are both low," said broker Gary Seymour, president of the Greater Pocatello Association of Realtors. "If this tax credit incentive causes an increase in demand like I think it will, the market will flip almost overnight."

The credit is worth 10 percent of the purchase price of the home with a cap at $8,000 for married couples who file jointly, but the limit is set at $4,000 for a single person.

Anyone who hasn't owned a home in the past three years and earns up to $75,000 per year individually, or $150,000 with their spouse, is eligible for the credit, which can be applied for when they file either their 2008 or 2009 taxes.

Because the credit is also refundable, people who do not owe on their taxes will receive a check from the federal government for the full amount of the credit.

The only constraints on the money are that the home is purchased between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30, 2009, and the purchasers must live in the home for at least three years or the money will have to be repaid.

According to Seymour, the local housing market is in a unique situation to quickly recover from the recent downturn because it has not been hit as hard by home depreciation as many other areas in the nation.

"I have a friend in Phoenix that can't sell his home because it has depreciated 2 to 3 percent per month for the last three months. It went from being worth $540,000 to $480,000. We just don't have that here," Seymour said.

Seymour explained that he expects the credit to help stimulate Pocatello's housing market by allowing people who are moving to the area to sell their other home more easily and at a better price. This in turn prevents these people from having to rent when they arrive in Pocatello as they await the sale of their old home. It also allows them to enter into the local market with more money.

Steve Taggart, a real estate broker with Century 21 Advantage in Idaho Falls, agreed that the tax credit could have a great effect on local housing markets.

"It will certainly help get more first-time buyers into the market. Once they buy homes they will allow others to move, and the only unknown is how much it will stimulate," Taggart said. "But it's the closest equivalent to the GI Bill after World War II."

Real estate agent Liz Rutger, a member of the Greater Pocatello Association of Realtors, said she hopes to see the money purchasers receive from the credit put to good use, as well as help new buyers enter the market in a positive way.

"I believe it adds a lot to the value of the home if the buyer is able to put a sizable down payment in up front," Rutger said.

At this point, local Realtors say their main goal is to inform the public of this opportunity.

"There are a lot of people looking at houses right now that are just a little afraid to buy. I think this credit will show them that the road is paved, all they have to do is get on it. There is nothing better than home ownership," Seymour said.