FHA Loan Limits in DC Metro Area to Return to $729,750
November 15, 2011 by Katie Wethman · Leave a Comment
Good news for our area: FHA is on its way to increasing their loan limit from $625,500 to $729,750 (its ‘temporary’ level prior to October 1, 2011). The measure would be in place through 2013. According to Reuters, a bipartisan panel of Congress agreed on a measure yesterday that would increase the limit. The increase [...]
Proposed Elimination of Fannie, Freddie May Boost Interest Rates; FHA Insurance Premium Set to Increase
February 21, 2011 by Katie Wethman · Leave a Comment
The administration has released a white paper saying it intends to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and severely cut back FHA’s role in mortgage funding. Though the plan could take up to seven years to execute, it would mean a dramatically privatized mortgage market and very likely higher rates. The report offers three [...]
Proposed Changes All Point to Higher Interest Rates to Come
February 14, 2011 by Katie Wethman · Leave a Comment
The DC area mortgage market is about to get hit with a double whammy. Last week, the Administration proposed lowering the “jumbo” loan limit from $729,750 in our area (one of the highest cost housing markets in the country) to $625,500. Technically, the $729k limit was ‘temporary’ but it had been extended several times and [...]
DC $5000 First Time Home Buyer Credit Retroactively Approved for 2010 Purchases
December 21, 2010 by Katie Wethman · Leave a Comment
Buried in Friday’s signed, sealed, and delivered Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 was a provision retroactively approving the $5,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers in DC for 2010, and extending it through 2011 as well. Home buyers will remember that the credit, last approved as part of the [...]
FHA Mortgage Insurance Set to Increase
September 9, 2010 by Katie Wethman · 1 Comment
As announced earlier this year, FHA has now made official its plan to increase mortgage insurance premiums for case numbers after October 4, 2010. For loans with a loan-to-value (LTV) of over 95% (which is most first time buyers, in my experience), the monthly fee increases from .55 bps to a whopping .90 bps. How [...]
Is the First Time Home Buyer Credit Coming Back?
August 30, 2010 by Katie Wethman · Leave a Comment
With the precipitous 27% drop in July housing sales, the first time home buyer credit is getting renewed interest from some heavy hitters in Washington, including Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, according to The Hill. Though admitting that just one month of numbers was too little data to say whether the credit [...]
FHA Loans Getting More Expensive – Again
August 10, 2010 by Katie Wethman · Leave a Comment
Bill HR 2981 was passed by both the House and Senate, paving the way for higher charges for FHA borrowers. The majority of FHA loans are 30 year mortgages with a loan-to-value of at least 96.5%, which will see an increase in the monthly fee from 55 bps to a whopping 90bp, but on the [...]
Mortgage Rates Hit Historic Lows: Should I Refinance?
July 16, 2010 by Katie Wethman · Leave a Comment
Back in 2008, I wrote a blog post about refinancing, and given that rates are once again reaching (new) historic lows–in the 4.5% range for 30 year fixed money up to $729,750!–I thought it was time to revisit, and update, the post. When deciding whether to refinance, the best thing to do is calculate the [...]
Washington, DC, & Northern Virginia Real Estate Market Update: July 2010
July 6, 2010 by Katie Wethman · Leave a Comment
Summer is upon us, and with it, a slowdown in the market. Though the tax credit certainly has had an impact, it is NOT unexpected to have a slow down in summer. We’ll need to wait another month or so to really compare apples to apples once the May and June data are out. Looking [...]
Potential Extension of June 30 Settlement Deadline & FHA Loans About to Get More Expensive–AGAIN!
June 14, 2010 by Katie Wethman · Leave a Comment
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has co-authored a proposal to extend the June 30 settlement deadline for the first time buyer credit until September 30 to give lenders more time to process the incredible volume of contracts trying to close. The surge in loan volume has created delays around home appraisals and the usual delays [...]
