Clearwater Florida Home Buyers get good Tampa Mortgage News
Clearwater Florida – After the recent Government rollout…..Everything old is new again.
Conforming Tampa mortgage loans are limited by loan size, based on “typical” housing costs for each area around the country. The current conforming limit on a single-unit property is $417,000.
Anything over that is considered a “Jumbo Loan” and comes at an added expense which explains by most recent beach sales are under $500,00 or well over $1,000,000. Recently when helping a family purchase a beach condo we realized how the lack of mortgage options for our high priced Clearwater beach properties was effecting the buyers ability and desire to purchase a Clearwater Beach condo they wanted.
Historically, Clearwater Beach property sales increased along with prices because of the ability to get loans for these luxury oceanfront properties- while no one wants the irrational exhuberance we saw in 2005 and 2006 we also need reasonable credit options today for high priced properties or that fact alone will lead to the continued decline in their value. Limiting credit limits the number of possible buyers.
If there are fewer people who can buy these condos it means Clearwater Beach properties will remain stuck in a strong buyers market with continued downward pressure on property sales prices. We are even finding some local banks asking for 30-50% down on condominium purchases so hopefully we’ll see a loosening of the local lending policies for our luxury beachfront condos in Clearwater
Related: Fannie Mae puts extra hurdles on Clearwater Condo Mortgage options
Last year in 2008, as part of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, Congress authorized conforming loan limits increases in “high-cost” areas around the country. In Los Angeles County, for example, a mortgage could be as large as $729,750 and still be considered “conforming”. The bad news for us was that it went county by county and overall Pinellas County did not qualify for the higher amount even though we have 26+ miles of Pinellas beachfront properties.
Those temporary increases rolled back on real estate effective January 1, 2009, to a maximum of $625,500.
Will new Law raise financing limit on Clearwater Beach Condos?
However, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 signed into law this week, conforming home loan limits in high-cost areas have been returned to their higher levels of 2008.
I heard a rumor that the new law will adjust down to the neighborhood level, however, when I called several top Tampa mortgage professionals they said they didn’t have all the details yet. I will keep you posted and keep my fingers crossed.
We are hopeful that this new law will give buyers looking purchase condos in Clearwater Beach Florida this year more favorable loan options on amounts over the standard $417,000.
You can see the text on the bottom of page 111 of 407.
Changes to conforming loan limits impact everyone with a stake in Clearwater Florida real estate, even if their neighborhoods are not considered “high-cost”. This is because conforming mortgages offer the widest selection of home loan products, and often at the lowest rates. The widespread availability of conforming mortgages helps to support home sales nationwide as well as providing ample refinancing options for people that need it.
Lenders have yet to pick up the change, but are expected to shortly. Once they do, more homeowners will be eligible for cheap home financing.
To lookup neighborhood’s conforming loan limits, visit the HUD Web site. Or, if you have specific questions related to your Clearwater home or an upcoming Clearwater beach real estate purchase, contact me directly anytime.
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