Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan announced details Friday on a plan to allow some first-time home buyers to get upfront cash for a down payment on a house through the government’s new tax credit for new home buyers.

But the Housing and Urban Development Department acknowledged the program will help just “thousands” of borrowers, mainly lower-income families that insure their first mortgages though the Federal Housing Administration.

The tax credit, which expires Dec. 1, provides a refund of 10% on the purchase price of a home for many first-time buyers but is capped at $8,000. You can find more information about the credit at a Web site set up to explain it.

Earlier this month, Donovan announced that the Administration would allow certain HUD approved lenders and non-profits -- as well as some state and local governmental housing entities -- to “monetize” the tax credit, or provide the cash upfront, through short-term bridge loans.

At an appearance at a home-builders conference in Washington, D.C., Donovan confirmed the tax credit lending plan. HUD also announced that certain lenders will be able to outright purchase a tax credit from a borrower at a slight discount, generally 2.5%. So if a borrower were due a $6,000 credit, he could sell it to the lender at the loan closing for $5,850, to collect the upfront cash.

HUD also announced the funds could be used for closing costs on an FHA mortgage. You can read the HUD press release here. 

Right now, buyers have to wait until they buy a home and after they file their taxes to receive the cash back from the credit. But finding cash now for a down payment has proved to be a hurdle for some people looking to buy their first home.

“Families will now be able to apply their anticipated tax credit toward their home purchase right away,” Donovan said in a statement. “What we're doing today will not only help these families to purchase their first home but will present an enormous benefit for communities struggling to deal with an oversupply of housing.”

The HUD plan “is about making that money available now, so it can be part of the down payment, so that people don't have to wait to get the benefit of that,” said Michael “Mick” Pattinson, chief executive officer of Barratt American Homes in Carlsbad, Calif., who attended the home-builders conference. “It's another stimulus to encourage people to buy a new home now, and we welcome it.”

The plan is the latest in the Administration's list of housing and mortgage assistance programs, which it says have helped more than a million homeowners since the programs were launched in early March -- mainly by lowering monthly loan payments.

While the HUD plan is limited to mainly FHA borrowers, the National Association of Homebuilders estimates the 10% tax credit will help 160,000 new home buyers overall this year.