Real Estate News

As a result of the federal government's 2008 Economic Stimulus Act, the limits on conforming mortgages eligible for purchase or guarantee by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have increased in certain high-cost areas. New limits range from $417,000 to $729,750, depending on location. In Los Angeles county, the new limit is $729,750. For borrowers who live in these high-cost areas, this means that rates and availability on higher-end loans that were once hard to get are now more accessible.

Areas like Los Angles, for one.

(Money Magazine) -- There's no telling how long the housing crisis will drag on. Here's what you need to know before you start shopping in a rocky market.
Rule 1: You can't time the bottom

Face it: The house you buy today will more than likely be worth less next year. That could get you thinking about trying to time the bottom. Resist. It's harder to do than you think, and this is the best buyers have had it in two decades, with inventories up and mortgage rates low.

There are some interesting articles in the RE section; Places to live - Top 100 and why.

Also Where homes are affordable, there are 50 listed. These are based on 2006 but they tell you the Median family income and the medium house prices for that area. Very surprising in many cases!

There are some other articles of interest as well; Where the jobs are , 25 top-earning towns and Where the singles are. Hmmmmmmm........

At this location:

I found this article in The Boston Globe real estate section and it was also published by Yahoo real estate:

http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2008/05/14/homeowners_rea...

Per Yahoo Real Estate:

With home values continuing to plummet across the country, it's become clear that the real estate meltdown is far from over.

Values for single-family homes in 14 major U.S. cities posted double-digit declines from their respective peaks, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, which tracks prices of single-family homes. On a national level, home values are down 12% since December 2006. And according to Beth Ann Bovino, a senior economist at Standard & Poor's, they could drop another 10% by the end of the year.

I'm writing a little forum about one of those annoying little things that we all hear about everyday and I persnally get tired of it. But, I thought of something tonight. Before gas started going up like it is, it was worth it for people to drive to work because the cost of living was so much cheaper than where the may work, like the bigger metropolitan areas. I heard a little rumor tonight that gas may be $7/gal by the end of the summer (I say that not as a topic to talk about, keep the big picture in mind), and if it does how will this affect the real estate market.