optimusprime_IHB
New member
Here's a good article for everyone to read from the Wall Street Journal.
For some of you lucky enough w/a subscription here's the link
<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124924069909799645.html">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124924069909799645.html</a>
For some not...the Big Picture blog covers the most important parts...
<a href="http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/08/real-estate-trade-down-environment/">http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/08/real-estate-trade-down-environment/</a>
My fav part...
<em>
The $8,000 tax credit for first-time homeowners phases out for single buyers whose incomes exceed $75,000, or married couples earning more than $150,000. Low-interest-rate mortgages backed by the FHA and government-controlled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are only available on loans below limits set by Congress. Last year, Congress increased those limits to $417,000 in most markets, and to as high as $729,750 in certain high-cost markets, including parts of Hawaii, California, New York and Washington, D.C.
Mortgages for amounts that exceed those limits are called "jumbo" mortgages, and face higher interest rates. Last week, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage below the limits was 5.42% compared with 6.33% for jumbos, according to HSH Associates, a financial publisher.
Extremely wealthy people may not need a mortgage. But buyers who take mortgages for expensive homes generally face higher rates and tighter lending standards. Most banks that offer jumbo mortgages are generally requiring down payments of 20% to 30% or more, knocking out potential buyers who don't have much equity in their homes and have seen retirement savings fall.
<strong>While subprime mortgages sparked the first round of housing problems two years ago, now "troubles are lurking further up the food chain," says Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at MFR Inc. White-collar job losses have accelerated while more adjustable-rate loans to prime borrowers are resetting to higher payments. "You put all that together, it leads me to believe that the next leg down on home prices is going to come from the top," he says.</em></strong>
For some of you lucky enough w/a subscription here's the link
<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124924069909799645.html">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124924069909799645.html</a>
For some not...the Big Picture blog covers the most important parts...
<a href="http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/08/real-estate-trade-down-environment/">http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/08/real-estate-trade-down-environment/</a>
My fav part...
<em>
The $8,000 tax credit for first-time homeowners phases out for single buyers whose incomes exceed $75,000, or married couples earning more than $150,000. Low-interest-rate mortgages backed by the FHA and government-controlled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are only available on loans below limits set by Congress. Last year, Congress increased those limits to $417,000 in most markets, and to as high as $729,750 in certain high-cost markets, including parts of Hawaii, California, New York and Washington, D.C.
Mortgages for amounts that exceed those limits are called "jumbo" mortgages, and face higher interest rates. Last week, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage below the limits was 5.42% compared with 6.33% for jumbos, according to HSH Associates, a financial publisher.
Extremely wealthy people may not need a mortgage. But buyers who take mortgages for expensive homes generally face higher rates and tighter lending standards. Most banks that offer jumbo mortgages are generally requiring down payments of 20% to 30% or more, knocking out potential buyers who don't have much equity in their homes and have seen retirement savings fall.
<strong>While subprime mortgages sparked the first round of housing problems two years ago, now "troubles are lurking further up the food chain," says Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at MFR Inc. White-collar job losses have accelerated while more adjustable-rate loans to prime borrowers are resetting to higher payments. "You put all that together, it leads me to believe that the next leg down on home prices is going to come from the top," he says.</em></strong>