Saturday, January 30, 2010

Is The Ugliest Emerging In The Real Estate Industry?

By Gavin J. King

Like a carnival free-fall ride that stops suddenly, teasing riders into a false sense of safety before plummeting the rest of the way to the ground, some economists say the housing market could once again be headed for a plunge after slowly clawing back some of its 2008 losses.

A trio of gathering government storm clouds will be responsible for the drop that some predict could mean another 10% to 15% slump in prices, they say.

After a 36 month departure from the peak of the real estate market, the topic is still real estate and the current trend in prices. The news is not good and may signal the end to the brief period of appreciation we had in 2009

The function of the FHA is to make sure those who would not normally be able to buy a home, can do so, but they are raising their standards which will make buying a home harder for poorer buyers.

Trying to help the foreclosure rates, the FHA has increased its down payment required to buyers that don't have the greatest credit, while boosting the mortgage insurance premiums needed for its loans, and significantly lowering the amount of money for seller paid closing costs.

With fewer people having high enough credit for standard loan programs, more people have turned to using FHA backed financing to get their loans done.

For a lot of people the FHA was their only resort, said economist Dean Baker, co-director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Economic Policy. Being forced to utilize FHA type loans, many buyers are finding a great resource in them in a time when conventional loan money is more than difficult to get. With financing for home buyers as well as home builders being so important to the recovery of the housing market, FHA financing is one great way to find help. - 23309

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment