House Approves Loan Limit Extension; House, Senate Leaders Reach Agreement on Home Buyer Tax Credit

House Approves Loan Limit Extension; House, Senate Leaders Reach Agreement on Home Buyer Tax Credit

By: Sorohan, Mike

The House and Senate yesterday approved a continuing resolution that includes a provision that would extend current loan limits for FHA and the government-sponsored enterprises through next year.

Additionally, Senate leaders announced they have agreed to an extension of the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit through April 30. The popular credit, which has strong support from the Mortgage Bankers Association, is set to expire Nov. 30.

The CR, which keeps the federal government running through Dec. 18, passed the House on a 247-178. The Senate vote was 72-28.

MBA commended both chambers on their actions. "Given the lack of a private secondary mortgage market, FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are pretty much the only game in town," said MBA Chairman Robert Story Jr., CMB. "Extending the current loan limits through 2010 will allow more loans to qualify for these important programs and will help keep mortgage credit more accessible and affordable for qualified borrowers."

The CR provision would keep in place current conforming loan limits of $625,000 ($729,750 in designated high-cost areas). Without approval from the Senate, those limits will expire on Dec. 31.

MBA and other industry trade groups sent a letter this week to leadership of the House and Senate urging Congress to pass legislation “as soon as possible” to extend current higher loan limits. The letter called the higher limits a “key component of the economic recovery efforts because they help make affordable loans available for a broader spectrum of consumers who want to purchase a home or refinance an existing mortgage.”

"As we try to maintain the momentum of the housing recovery, providing affordable financing for qualified borrowers is critical," Story said. "Extending the loan limits, along with other initiatives such as extending and expanding the homebuyer tax credit, will help restore stability to the housing and mortgage markets."

Meanwhile, members of the Senate said they substantially reached an agreement on extending the first-time home buyer tax credit, adding it to a bill that would extend expiring unemployment benefits.

The amendment would extend the existing $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers and offer a new $6,500 credit for existing homeowners who have lived in their current residence for a consecutive five-year period within the past eight years. Under the amendment, home buyers would be required to be under contract by April 30 and close before July 1.

MBA has supported extension and expansion of the tax credit, noting that the Internal Revenue Service recently reported that more than 1.4 million taxpayers have benefited from the tax credit, enacted by Congress as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

“MBA believes the first-time home buyer tax credit has had a stimulating impact on our economy, and MBA supports extending and expanding it so it can help more buyers and sellers,” MBA said in a recent Call to Action from its grassroots advocacy arm, the Mortgage Action Alliance. “Our fragile economy is just beginning to show signs of stabilizing. We should not jeopardize our recovery by letting this tax credit expire. The home buyer tax credit is helping hundreds of thousands of Americans realize the American dream, and it is creating thousands of jobs that rely on homeownership.”