The Daily Press recently spoke with one couple who is taking advantage of the new tax credit and housing market to move out of their starter home.

This is a great time to move-up to a new home for a number of reasons:

1.  The new $6,500 tax credit. (See details.)

2.  The market is full of great bargains.

3.  Interest rates are still low.

Hopefully the move-up credit will be a big help to homeowners, and will help with the housing market recovery.

"George and Florence Sutton bought what they thought would be their starter home in 1990. Nearly 20 years later, they're finally moving up.

Turns out it's a good time to do so, with an $8,000 home buyer tax credit, low interest rates and a slew of inventory to pick from.

'Now is an excellent time to be looking for that move-up home because the bargains available on the more expensive properties are just unbelievable,' said Keith Canty, a real estate agent with Greg Garrett Realty. 'They lose some when they sell, but they gain much, much more when they buy. Anybody that can, this is an excellent time to do that.'

This summer, an up to $8,000 tax credit breathed enough life into a lackluster housing market locally and across the nation that Congress saw fit to extend and expand it. The Suttons saw it as a good opportunity to snag a move-up home they've been thinking about for three or four years, now that their kids are grown."

Read the full story.