Congress has voted to keep the maximum size of loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA at their current levels through the end of 2011. For buyers in high cost areas, the maximum mortgage amount will remain at $730,000 for Fannie/Freddie loans and at $625,000 for FHA mortgages.
Anything above these limits set by Congress falls into a category known as “Jumbo” loans. During the financial crisis, mortgage lenders became far less willing to make these types of loans and thus Congress had to act. A typical level for Jumbo loans used to be around 18% annually. This year, they’ve made up roughly 5% of the mortgage market. However, this is likely to change as the premium gap for borrowers who receive jumbo loans has fallen to about a 0.8 percentage points. Prior to the crisis, the premium level was 0.25 percentage points.
Continue Reading Congress Extends Loan Limits
Tags: buyers, legislature, mortgages
International buyers are taking advantage of a weak dollar in order to buy Florida real estate at a record pace. Many are just taking advantage of the drop in property prices but most also see the Florida market as a desirable and secure investment for the future. In fact, during the last 12 months, foreign buyers purchased almost 25% of all the existing homes sold within the state.
The mid year 2010 real estate market statistics for both home and condominium sales on 
Advocates who are trying to keep real estate taxes reasonable in Florida won one battle but lost another as state courts have ruled on two important cases.
