WASHINGTON, March 4 - The National Association of Home Builders wants potential home buyers to be aware that they still have the opportunity to take advantage of the $8,000 first-time home buyer or $6,500 repeat buyer tax credits, as long as they act quickly--the credits expire on April 30, 2010.

"It's not too late to take advantage of the home buyer tax credit," said NAHB Chairman Bob Jones, a builder and developer in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. "There are plenty of existing homes on the market, and even though the move-in ready newly constructed homes inventory has dwindled, builders may still be able finish a home in time."

The IRS provides an additional two months beyond the deadline to close the deal. Buyers who sign a sales contract by the April 30 deadline are still eligible if they close the sale of the home by June 30, 2010.

More people than ever before are eligible for a home buyer tax credit, NAHB estimates that close to 70 percent of all potential buyers should qualify for some form of a credit.

"First-time" buyers don't have to be buying their first home ever; they are defined by the IRS as those who have not owned a principal residence in the past three years. Repeat buyers may be eligible for a new $6,500 credit, as long as they have owned and lived in their current home at least five consecutive out of the past eight years.