Those buying a new home in Utah could get a grant of as much as $6,000 under a bill passed Thursday in the waning hours of the legislative session.

If buyers are able to combine the grant with an $8,000 federal incentive, they could get $14,000 just for buying a home.

At the state level, SB260, sponsored by Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, sets aside $10 million in federal stimulus money for the homebuyer grants. Enough money is theoretically available to provide grants to about 1,600 people.

Both the state and federal incentives have income limits.

But unlike the $8,000 federal tax credit, which is designed for first-time buyers or those who haven't owned a home in the past three years, the state grant is not targeted toward any specific type of buyer.

Another difference: The $8,000 federal tax credit is available to those who buy new or used homes, while the state grant is available only for those buying new construction.

Why new construction? The sector has been the hardest-hit sector of all Utah industries affected by the downturn.

From January 2008 to January of this year, construction industry employment contracted by 15.4 percent, or about 14,000 positions.

During that same time period, builders took out permits for the construction of 3,992 single-family homes, down dramatically from the nearly 9,900 permits taken out during the same time period a year earlier.

"If the purpose of this is to jump-start the economy, you get more bang for your buck by providing incentives to get new houses built," said Mark Knold, chief economist with the Utah Department of Workforce. "The question is, in the long run, if we already have an excess inventory of homes, do we really need to be building more?"

Ryan Kirkham, president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors, said he isn't bothered by the fact the measure doesn't apply to resale homes.

"Anything that helps our economy, I'm excited about it," he said.