(CNNMoney.com) Propelled by the first-time home buyers tax credit, nearly half of home sales are now being made by first-time purchasers. In fact, 47% of all Americans who purchased homes this year had not owned one during the previous three years, according to a press release Friday from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

The tax credit boosted markets by giving first-time buyers a credit of up to $8,000 they could deduct from their income taxes. The credit is fully refundable: Even a buyer who pays less than $8,000 in income tax gets the full amount of the credit back. The credit was recently extended through the middle of 2010 and expanded to include many existing homeowners. That has the industry buzzing.