Step away from the precipice, folks, no need to jump off the bridge quite yet. Has your big Uncle Sam just come rushing up on his White Stallion to save the day?
[From BusinessWeek – 14 Calif. counties get maximum FHA limit]
Counties that get the $729,750 maximum for FHA loans are likely to get that same level for Fannie and Freddie mortgages, experts said. HUD is expected to designate new Freddie and Fannie limits for other parts of the country too.
In California, the counties at the maximum level for FHA loans are Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Marin, Monterey, Napa, Orange, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Ventura. At the other end, Lassen, Modoc and Trinity counties are subject to a loan cap of $271,050 — a standard amount in an area with normal home prices.
There, if you ever doubted it before – now you have the proof. Santa Cruz must, quite simply, be one of the best places to live in the whole wide USA, and hence, by easy extrapolation, the world. If anyone doubts you when you tell them this, you can simply point out that Santa Cruz has the maximum FHA loan limit in the entire USA (and, again by easy extrapolation, the world). Sure, there are other places that likewise have high FHA loan limits, but how is the surfing there? And, do they have tens of thousands of acres of redwood forests for you to go stomping around in?
Count me a sceptic – I don’t think this is going to be any kind of panacea for our beleaguered market. But don’t worry – Apple Computer, Inc. used to be a beleaguered computer maker, and look at them now. I expect a future no less bright and shiny for the Santa Cruz Real Estate market. I think we’re a ways off from the promised land, still, but don’t lose the faith, happy times will come again. Oh, and if you do know anyone who was waiting to buy a house once the Guv’mint got its at together and raised the conforming loan limits – won’t you send ’em my way? 😀
Find your Place
