Prices are low, mortgages are cheap, and buyers are finally starting to emerge from their hiding places, even if they are doing so ever so tentatively. If you’ve never purchased real estate in the United States before, it’s a good idea to take stock of what such a venture might cost, even at bargain basement prices.
Until recently New York City real estate has been fairly impervious to the U.S. housing meltdown, with most properties in and around New York continuing to appreciate (although more slowly than in recent years) in the midst of the biggest real estate mess to hit the country since the Great Depression. All of that changed, however, after September 7 of 2008 when the U.S. government seized the quasi-governmental mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
According to a January 11th article by New York Times reporter Bob Tedeschi, if you are looking at buying real estate in a traditionally high-priced area of the United States, it might make sense to wait a few weeks before making your move. Some members of Congress are reportedly urging Barack Obama to include a clause in the pending $800 billion economic stimulus package which would raise the dollar limit on “conforming loans.”
More on Congress Considers Increasing Conforming Loan Limits
