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Boston Real Estate – Conforming Loans

From Banker & Tradesman:

The federal government has extended through next year the maximum dollar amount for single-family “conforming loans,” or loans which federally-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will agree to purchase, giving some breathing room to potential homebuyers in nine high-priced Massachusetts counties who otherwise may have had to apply for more costly jumbo mortgages.

Fannie and Freddie have a general limit of $417,000 on loans they will agree to purchase, except if a home is purchased in one of several specially-designated “high-cost” areas. In these areas, due to higher median home prices, Fannie and Freddie have agreed to extend that figure to as much as $729,750 through 2010, after initially threatening to lower the high-cost area limit to $625,500 at the end of this year.

The move affects potential homebuyers in nine Massachusetts counties. Below, please find a listing of counties, and the extended loan limit.

1.) Barnstable: $462,500

2.) Bristol: $475,000

3.) Dukes: $729,750

4.) Essex: $523,750

5.) Middlesex: $523,750

6.) Nantucket: $729,750

7.) Norfolk: $523,750

8.) Plymouth: $523,750

9.) Suffolk: $523,750

Read other posts about: Boston Real Estate

9 Responses to “Boston Real Estate – Conforming Loans” »»

  1. Comment by rich | 11/17/09 at 8:27 am

    Boy talk about welfare for the rich. So exactly why do rich people on Nantucket need so much government help to make their second home mortgages more affordable? Seesh…..

  2. Comment by condobuyer | 11/17/09 at 9:08 am

    I totally agree Rich. It’s also for congress…most of Northern Virginia and Maryland has a 729K limit when they are in NO way more expensive then say Downtown Boston or Cambridge. So long as Congress members and the really wealthy get cheap mortgages…hey it’s all good. Not fair.

  3. Comment by confused | 11/17/09 at 10:06 am

    I ask why does anybody need the government to help them buy a house? If you cant do it on your own, then you don’t need it.

    Oh wait, the banks lent way too much money to people who couldn’t pay it back and now we can’t let prices fall till the banks are better….that was it. I can’t believe I keep forgetting that.

  4. Comment by rich | 11/17/09 at 12:03 pm

    Hi Confused,

    The U.S. Federal government has actually been subsidizing house purchases for a very long time in the form of tax deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes. Housing profits are also not taxed for most home sellers.

    Since the financial meltdown we now also have the first time home buyer tax credit and a trillion dollars of cheap mortgage money from Uncle Sam. These efforts are designed to slow down the drop of home prices.

    Unfortunately in many cases these subsidies benefit wealthy home owners more than average home owners. The typical sub-prime borrower likely gets few of these subsidies.

    Rich

  5. Comment by Rich | 11/17/09 at 5:00 pm

    More from the WSJ:

    blogs.wsj.com/developments/2009/11/17/in-housing-bust-government-increasingly-favors-homeowners-over-renters/

    In Housing Bust, Government Increasingly Favors Homeowners Over Renters

    During the housing boom, critics increasingly complained that the government devoted too many resources to homeownership and too few to more affordable options, such as renting. Now, during the bust, the government’s commitment to ownership has grown even larger, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office.

    This year, the government devoted four times the amount of budgetary resources to homeownership as it devoted to rental housing, or around $230 billion in spending and tax breaks for homeowners compared to around $60 billion for renting, the CBO reported. Around two-thirds of Americans are homeowners, according to the Census Bureau, though the rate fell to around 67.5% earlier this year, from a peak of 69.2% in 2004.

    The report notes that, until recently, most government support for homeowners came in the form of tax breaks that don’t require government spending but result in the government collecting less in taxes than what might be owed.

    But recent efforts to help stabilize a fragile housing market means that government spending now accounts for around half of federal support for housing, including a $75 billion tab for the government’s loan modification programs and taxpayer money to keep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the black.

  6. Comment by confused | 11/18/09 at 3:08 am

    Hi Rich,

    I agree with you that they have been subsidizing it for a long time with the tax breaks. I just think it is wrong. I just want the powers that be to let the prices fall to a natural level. I think that level would be what people could afford using the 20% down and 28% of monthly income. I know I’m probably not going to change anything with my opinion but I still like to voice it.

  7. Comment by Rich | 11/18/09 at 4:47 am

    Hi Confused,

    I would like to see most housing subsidies phased out also. However it will be a cold day in hell when this happens. I was in DC last week and noticed that the headquarters of the National Association of Realtors is about 1/2 a mile away from Capital Hill.

    Richard

  8. Comment by Marc | 11/18/09 at 3:04 pm

    Why then are local lenders still reporting rates for loans greater than $417K in their jumbo category? Is adherence to these regulations discretionary at the lender level? Any mortgage brokers care to chime in?

  9. Comment by condobuyer | 11/18/09 at 3:29 pm

    Marc,

    My experience with this is that anything up to 417K is conforming…between 417 and 523 (for Boston) is conforming jumbo and over 523K is jumbo. The rates for conforming jumbos often aren’t as low as 417K but much better than jumbos.

    Also, on websites it’s rare to find the conforiming jumbo rates quoted. You have to contact the lender directly and some may sway you towards a regular jumbo anyway but some will give you good rates for conforming jumbos.

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