Buying A House Next Year? Don't Worry About The Competition.

(MoneyWatch)  I've been speaking with real estate professionals around the country about the extension and expansion of the home buyer tax credit. Most are thrilled that they will have this incentive to lure prospective home buyers for another six months or so.

Those who are working with home buyers who qualify for either the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit or the $6,500 trade-up buyer tax credit are happy their buyers don't have to wait for December 1 to take advantage of the tax credit. They can't wait to close and move onto the next buyer.

Those who don't qualify for one reason or another are angry and frustrated. One buyer who closed on November 5 isn't too thrilled he missed getting $6,500 by a few hours and wanted to know if he could undo his deal and schedule a new closing.

A few are worried. They figure a bunch of the buyers who might have bought homes next year or the year after are pushing forward their transactions in order to pocket the "free" (to them, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayers) cash. They wonder who will buy homes in 2010 and 2011.

They may be right to worry. According to the new Move.com Homeownership Survey, just 5 percent of respondents plan to buy a house next year. Ten percent they might buy a house over the next two years. Almost half of those planning to buy a house are first-time buyers.

While the survey interviewed less than 250 people, and had a margin of error of +/- 3 percent, it's interesting to ponder who is thinking about buying a home and why:

• 12.1 percent of home buyers today plan to purchase a home as an investment property (up from 5.6 percent 7 months ago).
• 25 percent of consumers interesting in purchasing a home are looking for a foreclosure. Forty-two percent of foreclosure buyers regard their purchase as investment, while 58 percent expect to live there.
• 24 percent of home buyers and investors believe that prices are as low as they will go.
• 21 percent want to buy soon to take advantage of the great selection of homes for sale in their neighborhood.
• 14 percent are concerned prices will rise.

(Note: Don't try to add up these numbers. They come from different parts of the survey.)

I suppose the bright minds in Washington, D.C. think that if we can just get through the tough winter months, by the time the tax credit ends the unemployment rate will be going down and people will be in the mood to spend more money and commit to a 30-year mortgage.

Sounds optimistic to me. But, then again, I live on Main Street, not Wall Street.

Read More:

• Recession Over? Not With 21 Percent Unemployment
• $8,000 Tax Credit Details: Update
• Have We Really Hit The Bottom Of The Real Estate Market?
• Is The U.S. Housing Market Ready To Stand On Its Own?