John Wood, president of the Raleigh Regional Association of Realtors, says the extension and expansion of the homebuyer tax credits could encourage more people to buy homes this winter. "About a third of the buyers nationwide who bought as first-time homebuyers said that they bought because of the tax credits ... The biggest thing that is helping us locally is that throughout the country people are getting their homes sold. So as they sell their home elsewhere, whether it's in Florida, Ohio, New York, wherever, those people who have jobs here can now buy a home." Michael Jarzomski, who now lives in Apex, recently bought a home with the help of the tax credit. Full Article at MyNC.com