An $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers that is set to expire at the end of the month inched another step closer to getting extended until April. The Senate voted 85-2 yesterday to move the bill to a final vote, and senior members of Congress said that they expected the bill to pass next week.

In what officials say is a move to stimulate the economy, the measure might even be expanded to give a $6,500 tax credit to homebuyers who have lived in their previous home for at least 5 years.