WASHINGTON -- Missed out on Cash for Clunkers? Congress has another deal for you: Buy a home before May 1 and collect up to $6,500 from the government. If you're a first-time homebuyer, get up to $8,000.

As part of the government's efforts to encourage people to spend money to help revive the economy, the House voted 403-12 yesterday to expand a popular tax credit for homebuyers. The bill also extends unemployment benefits for almost 2 million people out of work nearly a year or more as the U.S. continues to lose jobs.

President Barack Obama plans to sign the bill today. The measure won unanimous support in the Senate on Wednesday.

First-time homebuyers have been getting tax credits of up to $8,000 since January as part of the economic-stimulus package. But with that housing program scheduled to expire at the end of the month, the House voted to extend it into the spring -- and to expand it to many people who already own homes.

Buyers who have owned their current homes at least five years would be eligible, subject to income limits, for tax credits of up to $6,500. First-time homebuyers -- or people who haven't owned homes in the previous three years -- could get up to $8,000. To qualify, buyers have to sign purchase agreements before May 1 and close before July 1.

Central Ohio builders and real-estate agents, whose trade associations campaigned for the extension, celebrated the bill's passage.

"This is definitely a good way to go," said Gary Libertini, senior vice president of American Heritage Homes and president of the Building Industry Council of central Ohio.

"There's only so many first-time homebuyers who can qualify for a loan or take advantage of this now, and there's so many other people who live in a home and have equity and can now use this."

Libertini and others said they hope the extension will boost mid- and upper-end sales, which have been overshadowed by low-priced homes bought by first-timers.

"This should be a much-needed jolt to the move-up market," said Chris Derrow, executive vice president and general manager of Real Living Inc. "We just have no liquidity in that $180,000 to $500,000 market, there's just no movement there. We hope this will excite sellers and buyers in that range."

The credit is available for the purchase of principal homes costing $800,000 or less, meaning vacation homes are ineligible. The credit would be phased out for individuals with annual incomes of more than $125,000 and for joint filers with incomes of more than $225,000.

Real-estate agents say the first-time homebuyers' tax credit that's already in effect has boosted sales, much in the same way the Cash for Clunkers program increased auto sales during summer.

The agents hope the expanded housing credit will help stabilize housing markets during typically slow sales months in the winter. Today, many would-be buyers are still worried that home values could drop further, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors.

"Once the consumer fear factor disappears, then housing can move into a sustainable recovery," Yun said. "I think we will be there by the middle of next year."

About 1.4 million first-time homebuyers had qualified for the credit through August.

Extending and expanding the tax credit for homebuyers is projected to cost the government about $10.8 billion in lost taxes.

The credit is equal to 10 percent of the purchase price of a primary residence, up to a maximum of $8,000 for first-time homebuyers and $6,500 for others.

Taxpayers can claim the credit on their federal income-tax returns. If the credit exceeds their tax bill, the government will issue a payment. Taxpayers who want immediate refunds can amend their tax returns for 2008 to claim the credit.

The unemployment benefits section of the bill extends benefits for 14 weeks for all those who have exhausted their federal aid or will do so by the end of the year. Those living in states where the unemployment rate is at 8.5 percent or above -- Ohio is one -- get an additional six weeks. The national jobless rate is now 9.8 percent.

The fourth extension passed by Congress in the past 18 months would stretch federal aid to a maximum of 99 weeks, well beyond the extent of government intervention during past downturns.

The cost for benefits extension is $2.4 billion, to be paid for by extending an unemployment insurance payroll tax on employers.

Dispatch reporter Jim Weiker contributed to this story.

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Health-care UPDATE Buoyed by two key endorsements, House Democrats are predicting passage of President Barack Obama's health-care package. Opponents, however, were out in force yesterday in Washington. ■A3