We just received this email from N.A.R.
“The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed a stimulus package that raises the FHA and conforming loan limits to as high as $729,750 in high-cost areas.
There is speculation that the Senate version of the stimulus package DOES NOT include these increases.”
Please contact Senator Barbara Boxer and Senator Diane Feinstein if you’d like to help this bill get passed.
The easiest way to take action is to click here. It’s a one second process and will send the Senators an email directly. So we think.
The tone is obviously a bit alarmist, but hey, that’s how America works.
[Update: …and approved.]
[Update: …and clarification of some of the confusing aspects of the package.]
–Call to Action [Realtor.org]
This surprises anyone? The senate is geographically biased and mostly filled with people from states with lower median prices so they really don’t care about this issue.
Myself I think it’s a good thing; without this change continued sharp declines in high priced areas are inevitable. With it the declines will slow down but still happen over longer spans of time.
The plus is that if the declines are rapid, such as the 20%+ we’ve seen in San Diego & Orange County we could be done with this cycle in a year or two as we reach rent parity.
I never did understand why the limits were higher for Alaska and Hawaii. Has anybody compared the price of housing and the cost of living between California, Hawaii & Alaska when deciding the limits? I used to live in Hawaii so I know well how expensive it is but look at what housing in the SF Bay, LA, and San Diego areas cost…