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
