HARTFORD, Conn. -- Rep. Joe Courtney is looking to expand a program that gave tax credits to first-time homebuyers in hopes of getting more people into new homes.

The program provided an $8,000 credit and Courtney is looking to expand it past its Nov. 30 deadline to include all of 2010.

"Let's face it, there's going to be more foreclosures and probably some more layoffs probably over the next few months or so. The market is going to need a longer incubation period to really get the full benefit from the stimulus," Courtney said.

As a first-time homebuyer, Rob Baham had been checking out the market. But when he learned about the tax credit, he said he pulled the trigger and bought this condo in Vernon.

"It probably made me go faster than I would have otherwise," he said. "I was just kind of looking, and when it passed, it was like, 'OK, let's go do this.'"

Realtors said they're beginning to see first-timers make their moves.

"We're getting people who are buying who aren't first-time buyers, but the first-time buyers are coming out and saying, "I've got to do something,'" Realtor Nell Kleinhas said.

Homebuilders said they think houses in all price ranges will start selling as soon as first-time buyers flood the market.

"The people who are looking to sell houses right now and to move up, the first-time homebuyers will be buying those houses," said Eric Person, of the Homebuilders Association of Hartford County.

Courtney said he would also like to change the homebuyer stimulus from last year so homeowners don't have to pay the credit back.

He headed back to Washington Tuesday as Congress reconvened. He said he's hoping his proposal will get quick support.