san jose credit problem: did they raise the conforming limits or not? And mortgage rates continue to worsen
- 02/18/08 12:53 PM
As part of the economic stimulus package, an increase in the conforming limit could now be a reality, at least for a brief period. Congress and President Bush agreed, but have not voted yet, on a 1-yr increase in the conforming loan limit to $730K. There is not a lot of detail yet (there is confusion as to whether the $730K, or $725, is for high cost housing areas, or everywhere, and just what high cost areas are?). Just when mortgage originators everywhere were breaking out the Cold Duck, OFHEO's director James Lockhart (Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, who oversees (0 comments)
Credit (borrowing) has become scarcer, rather than simply more expensive, which could affect the real economy in at least three ways. It could make the already large overhang of unoccupied housing worse, curb consumer spending, and constrain capital spending and hiring by firms that depend on external financing. And then what? Will this housing problem infect other parts of the economy? The "wealth effect" that housing in the past has brought us is almost gone in many parts of the country. Home equity helped the consumer stay ahead of the game but that has been stripped for the most part. The number (0 comments)