The prospect of continuing higher loan limits is looking grimmer as the end of September draws near. While the diminished limits won’t affect loans purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the limits for FHA insured mortgages for the collar counties in addition to several other counties around the state are set to go down after Sept. 30.

The Chicago area counties will be hit the hardest with a decrease of almost $45,000, while several other downstate and central Illinois counties will see a decrease of just over $10,000.  A complete list of counties affected can be found here through this link.

Using data provided by Midwest Real Estate Data LLC, certain collar counties could potentially see a double-digit impact on sales.  Assuming a 3.5% downpayment required by FHA, the number of transactions reported in the price range between the old and new loan limit last year and between January 1 and August 31st of this year show that FHA mortgages comprise a fair amount of sales in those areas.

Closed Listings – Sales Prices between $378,964 and $424,870
Jan.1 – Dec. 31, 2010 Jan.1 – Aug.31, 2011
All Types FHA % All Types FHA %
Cook County 1409 136 9.65% 874 63 7.21%
De Kalb County 4 0 0.00% 1 0 0.00%
DuPage County 338 50 14.79% 234 27 11.54%
Grundy County 4 0 0.00% 3 0 0.00%
Kane County 136 24 17.65% 82 10 12.20%
Kendall County 21 5 23.81% 13 1 7.69%
Lake County 219 27 12.33% 181 16 8.84%
McHenry County 69 12 17.39% 41 6 14.63%
Will County 198 33 16.67% 144 20 13.89%
Totals 2398 287 11.97% 1573 143 9.09%
Source: MRED LLC

 

While FHA may have a few more hurdles in the future there are still opportunities in lending. Make sure you attend the IAR Convention session this year on October 13th at 8:30 a.m. that focuses on real estate finance.  Antonio Riley, head of the Chicago district office of HUD;  Mary Kenney, executive director of IHDA;  and John Calk, COO of Chicago Bancorp, a major mortgage lender, will all be on hand to discuss the opportunities in lending for today’s buyers.

Also on the agenda will be discussion of lending opportunities in the multi-family investment sector, so whether you are a commercial or residential expert you will find this session both informative and relevant.  More information about the IAR Convention and Expo can be found at www.illinoisrealtor.org/convention.

This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by Midwest Real Estate Data LLC for the period January 2010 through August 2011. Midwest Real Estate Data LLC does not guarantee nor is it in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by Midwest Real Estate Data LLC may not reflect all real estate activity in the market. © 2011 MRED