Conventional Loan Limits Announced!

   The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has issued the maximum loan limits that will apply to conventional loans. The first mortgage loan limits are defined in terms of general loan limits and high-cost area loan limits. The maximum loan limits for 2014 remain unchanged from 2013; however, a number of high-cost area county limits have increased.

First Mortgage Loan Limits

The following chart contains the general loan limits for 2014:

Units	General Loan Limits
	Contiguous States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico	Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, and U.S. Virgin Islands
One	$417,000	$625,500
Two	$533,850	$800,775
Three	$645,300	$967,950
Four	$801,950	$1,202,925

 The maximum limits for 2014 are:

Units	High-Cost Area Loan Limits
	Contiguous States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico*	Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, and U.S. Virgin Islands
One	$625,500	$938,250
Two	$800,775	$1,201,150
Three	$967,950	$1,451,925
Four	$1,202,925	$1,804,375

 These limits were determined under the provisions of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

*Puerto Rico and a number of other states do not have any high-cost areas in 2014. 

Janet Yellen is a great choice!

Janet Yellen, I like you!  signed Marty Qualls

Do you know Janet Yellen yet?  She's being backed as Ben Bernanke's replacement. 

She's known for promoting low mortgage interest rates (I like her already!), a slightly higher inflation rate (she likes inflation because it promotes job growth!), and higher spending for teachers (what? Teacher's should be paid more?  I REALLY like her more now and so does my wife, Valarie!). 

Read more about her here, I think she's a GREAT choice (and pretty rich too!):
Jenet Yellen's philosophy

Strong existing home sale numbers continue

Existing Home Sales reached a six-and-a half year peak in August, 13% higher than one year earlier. 

Existing home sales, including those of single family homes, townhomes, condominiums and coops, have remained above their year-ago levels for the past 26 months.

This news coupled with the Fed announcement 2 days ago that QE3 will continue until the economy shows more signs of stability, bodes well for home sale strength for the remainder of the year.  

Homeowners equity positions changing-More homes selling in the next 15 months

RealtyTrac has released its U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report for September 2013, which shows that while 10.7 million residential homeowners nationwide owe at least 25 percent or more on their mortgages than their properties are worth, another 8.3 million homeowners are either slightly underwater or slightly above water, putting them on track to have enough equity to sell sometime in the next 15 months—without resorting to a short sale. The 8.3 million include homeowners with a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio from 90 to 110 percent, meaning they have between 10 percent positive equity and 10 percent negative equity. These homeowners represented 18 percent of all U.S. homeowners with a mortgage as of the beginning of September.

Hot Housing Market!

In Today’s Hot Housing Market, More Than 50% Of Homes Sell In Less Than One Month!

For the second straight month, Existing Home Sales topped 5 million monthly on a seasonally-adjusted annualized basis. That hasn't happened in 6 years.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR)  reports just 2.19 million homes for sale nationwide at the end of June, an 8% decrease from one year ago. At the current rate of sales, the entire stock of U.S. homes for sale would be "sold out" before the New Year -- there's just 5.2 months of inventory.

This is a big deal because analysts believe that a 6.0-month supply of homes represents a market in balance between buyers and sellers.When supply dips below six months, sellers gain leverage over buyers which, in turn, can push home prices higher.

Home supply has favored sellers since September 2012. Not surprisingly, home values since last year.

The June report showed the median Days on Market for homes sold in June dropped to 37 days. More than half of all homes sold in less than a month.
To put this "speed" in perspective, compare the last three years :

• June 2010 : Median 97 Days on Market 
• June 2011 : Median 70 Days on Market 
• June 2012 : Median 37 Days on Market 

Furthermore, if we remove foreclosure and short sales, the median Days on Market in June drops to thirty-five days.

Homes are selling quickly these days. Purchase-ready purchasers appear to have a better chance to going to contract than buyers without a plan or pre-approval letter (Call me, I can help you with your questions, options and your credit approval letter). 

This is what happens when the number of buyers outnumbers the sellers.

Buying a Home: Prepare by getting your Finances in Order

For those considering buying a home, the current real estate market presents some unique opportunities. One of the side effects of the economic roller coaster ride of the past few years is that home prices have gone down and more homes have gone on the market.

For buyers, that means more choices and better deals. However, those same tumultuous years can also teach buyers a lesson: Make smart buying decisions and be wise with your finances.

Impulsive buying is never a good idea when it comes to a purchase as significant as a home, but it was something of a trend at the height of the mid-2000s. Now, with banks lending far more cautiously, you need to be absolutely certain that your finances are in order - and healthy - to be able to get the best deal on your purchase.

There are a number of steps you can take to get ready to buy a home, and you might need to work on them simultaneously.

Read further for the steps to take.

More Homebuyer's Expected

Fannie Mae reports that potential home buyers may enter the purchase market sooner rather than later as more Americans expect mortgage rates and home prices to climb, according to results from Fannie Mae's June National Housing Survey, June, 2013