Effect of Energy Efficicent Tax Credit

Hello everyone. I am trying to better understand the effect the tax credits have had on the industry in replacement vinyl windows and what will happen Jan 1, 2011 when they expire. Have dealers seen sales bouyed truly by these credits. I can assume that those who qualify want to get the credit, but is the tax credit themselves driving sales this year significantly and pulling forward sales from future years? I would love to get people's experiences. Thanks!

Industry projections are for a 10.5% increase in window sales in 2011.

Is that projection based on the Ducker and WMDA report or "real" hearsay from dealers and industry experts on the ground. THe projections look rosy but I worry that the same thing will happen to windows sales as it happened to the home purchase tax credits. But the difference could be that most people who are looking to buy windows dont know about the tqax credits until a dealer tells thems. THey are obviously making use of the credit but the credit didnt originally drive them to consider windows. This dynamic is what I am trying to figure out. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I don't know that I've had a single client that was not familiar with the tax credit prior to contacting us. That beeing said, I think that there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic .... I think that most of us are experiencing a spike in business right now due to the expiration of the credit, and there may very well be a subsequent dip in the first quarter of next year, however I belive it will level off positively. There is a pretty strong emphasis on energy efficiency and the "green -movement" that I believe will continue to drive window sales as the economy and housing market recover.

Why is this so important to you? Are you a college student doing a term paper?