Less $ Available for Loans in Boston area... (Newton, Brookline: best neighborhoods, to rent) - Massachusetts (MA) - City-Data Forum

heather3 · 09-26-2011, 08:25 AM

We will most likely be moving to a Boston suburb next summer for a job relo...wondering if you all think the housing prices will decrease b/c of the amount that will be available for FHA loans (which is what we were looking at) beginning 10/1/11:
new-jumbo-mortgage-rules-expensive-markets: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

Thoughts?

chaxey · 09-26-2011, 08:46 AM

I spoke with a loan officer a month or two ago and this was his #1 concern/point. He said it's of course possible that one of the major private lenders (WF/BofA/Citi etc) starts offering bigger jumbos with less $ down, but at this point it's a total crap shoot.

The only thing you can infer from this is that yes, there is a strong possibility that home prices will drop or at least the bell curve will start to adjust to correlate with the new federal loan maxes.

Most people do not have 120k in cash to dump into a 600k home purchase for a down payment, and even if they did it would not be all that responsible to liquidate that much money to make that purchase depending on your reserve and income levels.

I am no expert, BY ANY MEANS. But I really believe that home prices have not bottomed otu, and this financing change is only going to lower prices further than where they are currently.

lovelife11 · 10-02-2011, 02:59 PM

Looks like u r from maryland, i am too originally. If u are moving here, rent here first. Then once you get to know the neighborhoods then buy a home. U dont wanna get stuck in a home that appears to be an ok area then later u see its not. I can tell u now, if you have kids Brookline and Newton have really good schools! But their homes are pricey and i mean pricey. You will pay more here than u would in maryland and the house will most likely be older and not updated. Just to give you an idea, so u dont get here and die of shock. Maryland can be very cookie cutter in a lot of parts, its not like that here. Which i love. But just know expect to pay atleast and i mean atleast 500,000 for a house in one of those areas and that might even be a stretch. The houses in the neighborhood i rent in run from 700,00 to 1 mil. And they dont look like it, but thats what i mean. But try to rent first. Before i got here i heard all kinds of stories about neighborhoods here, but u have ot see them for yourself. For example people told me jamaica plain was bad. But i went there and it didnt seem bad to me, plus they were recently ranked one of the best neighborhoods to live in, in boston. Then I found out the person who told me that hadnt lived here in over 20 years. So see the areas for yourself.

heather3 · 10-02-2011, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lovelife11

Looks like u r from maryland, i am too originally. If u are moving here, rent here first. Then once you get to know the neighborhoods then buy a home. U dont wanna get stuck in a home that appears to be an ok area then later u see its not. I can tell u now, if you have kids Brookline and Newton have really good schools! But their homes are pricey and i mean pricey. You will pay more here than u would in maryland and the house will most likely be older and not updated. Just to give you an idea, so u dont get here and die of shock. Maryland can be very cookie cutter in a lot of parts, its not like that here. Which i love. But just know expect to pay atleast and i mean atleast 500,000 for a house in one of those areas and that might even be a stretch. The houses in the neighborhood i rent in run from 700,00 to 1 mil. And they dont look like it, but thats what i mean. But try to rent first. Before i got here i heard all kinds of stories about neighborhoods here, but u have ot see them for yourself. For example people told me jamaica plain was bad. But i went there and it didnt seem bad to me, plus they were recently ranked one of the best neighborhoods to live in, in boston. Then I found out the person who told me that hadnt lived here in over 20 years. So see the areas for yourself.

Thanks for your advice! I believe we are looking in Norfolk County with Hopkinton being high up on the list (as well as Franklin). I have realized just what you said, MD is very cookie cutter (can you say Ryan Homes?) while MA is not, and it's not very common to see a large development (newer) in MA like it is here. MD farmland eventually becomes a housing development where MA seems to preserve it's older homes and keep a lot of nature intact!

kmann-sherborn · 10-02-2011, 07:38 PM

Hey Heather, if you have questions about Hopkinton please feel free to drop me a line. Our first home was there & we work there. Would be glad to share pros & cons.

gf2020 · 10-04-2011, 07:40 PM

FHA insured loans make up less than 25% of the total purchase mortgage market in the Boston area. I don't think any changes to the FHA loan programs will have a material impact in housing prices in the region.

P.S. Hopkinton is not in Norfolk County.

heather3 · 10-05-2011, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gf2020

FHA insured loans make up less than 25% of the total purchase mortgage market in the Boston area. I don't think any changes to the FHA loan programs will have a material impact in housing prices in the region.

P.S. Hopkinton is not in Norfolk County.

I realized after I posted Hopkinton isn't in Norfolk County...but it's still at the top of our list for now.

Thanks!