Conforming Loan Limits Drop in October

June 23rd, 2011, 3:00 pm ·

If conforming loan limits drop in October, more than 30,000 families in California will have to deal with higher down payments and mortgage rates and tougher loan qualification rules, the California Association of Realtors said today.

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Unless Congress steps in, the limit will drop to $625,500 from $729,950 for most places on Oct. 1. The limit establishes the maximum mortgage amount the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy or guarantee.

In Orange County, where the conforming loan maximum is $729,750, 13.3% of home sales would be ineligible under FHA-backed loans by C.A.R.’s calculations, and 6.2% of home sales with loans sponsored by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be nixed

“Non-conforming or jumbo loans typically carry a higher mortgage interest rate than a conforming loan and require a higher down payment, increasing the monthly payment and negatively impacting housing affordability for California home buyers,” C.A.R. said in a news release.

From C.A.R. President Beth Peerce:

“By reducing the conforming loan limit, thousands of California homebuyers will be shut out of homeownership. The higher mortgage loan limits are critical to providing liquidity in today’s housing market and are essential to our housing recovery. We urge Congress to maintain the current limits and make them permanent to provide homeowners and homebuyers with affordable financing and help stabilize local housing markets.”

Last October, Congress voted to extend the higher conforming loan limits through September of this year. But the present move to wind down government support for home loans includes reducing the limits.

FYI- Bank of America is changing their loan limits to 546,000 as of July 1 ( 3 months ahead of the October 1 date)

Gary Giffin, Middleton & Associates Real Estate.
visit his website, www.SanDiegoHomeSold.com or San Diego Coastal Real Estate at www.SanDiegoMLSHomeSearch.com , email him, garygiff@san.rr.com

La Jolla Real Estate Sales

Jan - Apr 2011

Total Sales for April - 64

SFH Sales for April - 31

Condo Sales for April - 29

Foreclosures for April - 9

Total Sales for the year - 210

Total Sales over 1.5 Mil - 15

Total Sales over 2 Mil - 7

Total Sales over 3 Mil - 2

Total Sales over 5 Mil - 1

Gary Giffin
Middleton Real Estate
848 Prospect Street
La Jolla, CA 92037
Ph: (858) 401-0204
www.SanDiegoHomeSold.com
E-mail: garygiff@san.rr.com

La Jolla Real Estate Sales

Jan - Nov 2010

Total Sales for November - 40

SFH November Sales - 16

Condo November Sales - 21

Foreclosures in November - 6

Total Sales for the year - 555

2010 Sales over 1.5 Mil - 119

2010 Sales over 2 Mil - 63

2010 Sales over 3 Mil - 26

2010 Sales over 5 Mil - 9

Welcome back to the New Year.

Let's hope we have seen the bottom of the market.

Look for a little heaven in 2011.

www.SanDiegoHomeSold.com

www.SanDiegoMLSHomeSearch.com

Real Estate Market Trends 2010 San Diego ,CA

1. The Fed met last week and as expected did not raise their rates, more importantly they continued to indicate a willingness to buy treasuries to support lower interest rates it doesn’t have the same effect as when they were purchasing Mortgage backed securities but it gets the job done.
2. Building permits increased nationwide 2% in August; this is a good sign that expectations are that by the second quarter inventories will be lower. Actual housing starts (new construction) rose by 11% in August supporting those expectations.
3. Existing homes inventory dropped by 1% and is holding at 11.6 months as of August.
4. Consumer confidence came in Lower then expected which put a drag on the equity markets but helped the bonds rally so rates dipped a bit early this week.
5. Q-2 GDP was adjusted up,1% leaving the growth rate of the economy flat, bad for sales good for rates

And the Crystal Ball Says ..

All in All things are continuing to bump along the bottom. I expect more of the same for the near future low rates and moderate pricing the factors that will change these things are:

1. The foreclosure market is beginning to slow I believe the last wave of foreclosures en mass will be completed by Q-1 2011 this will reduce inventories and by next summer we should see a moderate warming in the Sales Market.
2. Unemployment remains high primarily due to the fact that businesses don’t know what to plan for. The November elections will settle that for the next 2 years. If the Republicans take control of congress and the current tax rates are extended you will see economic growth pick up steam supporting job growth, remember “Corporate America” is currently sitting on 3 trillion dollars waiting for the correct time to begin expansion. If the Democrats retain control we will see more of the same as businesses will hold their cash until there is clarity on Governmental costs to operations.
3. Europe is still in trouble with Sovereign Debt issues and it will be a while till they get it resolved they have had problems raising cash to meet their debt needs and have committed to deep spending cuts but that will slow their economic growth for the short term although this approach will strengthen their economies for the long term. Once the dust settles (12-24 mos) they will begin slow growth and support global recovery.

FHA

Well There’s good news and bad news as of 10/1/2010, the up front mortgage fee has been reduced from 2.25% down to 1.75% so the up front costs are lower but the monthly mortgage insurance rate increased to .85% from .55%. This is as a result of the number of loans that Freddie and Fannie are buying these days and the fact that they are by standard terms insolvent causing the Fed to continue to buy treasury notes to support them.

California Association of Realtors says ..

The Good,

The statewide median home price posted its 10th consecutive year-over-year gain in August, according to C.A.R.’s report. The median price of an existing, single-family detached home sold in California during August 2010 was $318,660, an 8.6 percent increase from the revised $293,400 median price recorded in August 2009. The August 2010 median price was up 1.2 percent compared with July’s $314,850 median price.

The Bad,

The median home price of an existing, single-family home in California rose 1.2 percent compared with July and 8.6 percent from a year ago, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported this week. Following two months of consecutive month-over-month declines, California home sales edged up 1.8 percent in August compared with July, but were down 14.9 percent compared with August 2009.

The Ugly,

Foreclosure rates hold steady (CNN)
The foreclosure crisis has entered a new phase: The number of properties entering the foreclosure process has dropped, and now nearly matches the number of repossessions. Read the full story

Gary Giffin, Middleton & Associates Real Estate. If you’d like to learn more about Gary or What your San Diego Homes are For Sale, visit his website, www.SanDiegoHomeSold.com or San Diego Coastal Real Estate at www.SanDiegoMLSHomeSearch.com , email him, garygiff@san.rr.com, or call him for an appointment at 858-401-0204