Congress Passes The Economic Stimulus Package!
- How Will This Affect The Real Estate & Mortgage Market?
Good News Friday Podcast
February 8, 2008
Week 8
(4 Minutes and 49 Seconds)
(Click The Play Button Above To Listen To The Podcast.)
Hello and Welcome to Good News Friday! Today is Friday February 8th 2008. My name is Bruce Karasik.
Each week we bring you good news and positive developments in the Real Estate Market, Mortgage Market, in our economy and our country. If you miss any podcast, we have archived all or our past shows so you can listen to them at any time by going to www.GoodNewsFriday.com.
Bloomberg.com reports some good news today. The Good News is that “The U.S. Congress gave final approval to a $151 billion economic stimulus package that will send tax rebate checks to more than 100 million households in an effort to boost the slowing economy. Besides the rebates and incentives for businesses to invest in new equipment, the measure increases the size of mortgage loans that government-chartered mortgage-finance companies can buy.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage finance companies, will be allowed to buy loans worth as much as $729,750 for loans made between July 31, 2007, and Dec. 31, 2008, an increase over the current $417,000 loan limit. The move may help struggling homeowners refinance large mortgages at a lower interest rate. It will also allow the Federal Housing Administration to insure loans as high as $729,750 in expensive markets. “
So what does this mean for homeowners, and first time buyers in Southern California? Prior to this bill, all loan amounts over $417,000 were considered Jumbo loans and borrowers were charged higher rates than borrowers who made conforming loans which had a loan amount of $417,000 or less. Now with the new maximum conforming rate up to $729,750, more borrowers can either buy homes at lower interest rates or refinance their existing homes at lower rates. With rates already at the lowest point in 4 years, this stimulus package will give a greater opportunity for more people to buy homes or refinance their homes. This increased demand is expected to help stabilize or increase Real Estate prices as demand increases. So if you are a homeowner this package is great news because of it’s effect on the value of your home. If you are buyer, this may be the time to act and buy your home to take advantage of the lower rates.
But the key to success again is having the right advisers and consultants in place so you can have the right strategy. As your trusted Real Estate consultants and advisers, we at the Karasik Team work in our unique ability. My unique ability is consulting, negotiating and overseeing the transaction details. We take a customized approach and enable our clients to make informed decisions to accumulate wealth through Real Estate. In addition, we at Karasik and Associates Mortgage Consultants, can help you come up with a strategy to determine whether this is the right time for you to buy your first home or to refinance your existing home.
We continue to believe that homeownership will remain to be the best avenue for American families to secure their financial future. I look forward our continuing dialog and we invite your feedback. Please feel free to email me at Bruce@TheKarasikTeam.com, call me at my office at 805-267-0366, or you can post your responses on our blog at www.GoodNewsFriday.com.
So we do have some good news to be grateful for. And so, my friends, I wish you and your families a Happy, Healthy, and prosperous week. And that’s it for now. I’ll see you back here next week for another episode of Good News Friday!
