(VOORHEES)–On the heels of a report from the National Association of Realtors showing a 27.2 percent drop in July home sales, Assembly Budget Chairman Lou Greenwald on Tuesday again noted how Gov. Chris Christie’s veto of legislation to create a state homebuyer tax credit will hurt New Jersey’s economy.
The legislation (A-1678) is designed to create thousands of new jobs and boost economic growth in New Jersey.
“This report means more bad news for New Jersey families,” said Greenwald (D-Camden). “At a time when home sales are plunging and unemployment is rising, we need a tax credit like this to jump-start New Jersey’s economy and create jobs. Clearly, the governor’s veto was shortsighted and wrong.”
According to the report, existing home sales dropped 27.2 percent nationally in July.
The July figure marks the third consecutive month of decline in home sales, bringing the pace of sales of all homes is at its lowest level since NAR began tracking this statistic in 1999. The NAR report shows that sales of single-family homes – which comprise the majority of transactions – are at their worst level since May 1995. NAR attributed the difficult housing market to the bad economy and the expired federal homebuyer tax credit.
“We know that dropping home sales means more unemployment, less jobs and less growth for New Jersey,” said Greenwald. “We know that the revenue created from home sales and related sales of furniture, appliances and other items will more than pay for the cost of this tax credit. This tax credit will stimulate our economy while generating hundreds of millions of dollars for the state. It’s a no-brainer.”
Greenwald’s bill passed 67-8 in the Assembly and 38-0 in the Senate.
“This legislation was overwhelmingly supported by Democrats and Republicans because it is a common-sense measure to get our economy going again,” said Greenwald. “Gov. Christie’s veto is a job killer for hundreds of thousands of New Jersey families struggling to make ends meet. It’s a raw deal for New Jersey’s middle class. I urge my colleagues to support an override of the governor’s veto.”
