Great News Everyone! Fannie Mae has finally seen the light! Amending their guidelines and increasing the number of mortgages investors may have from 4 to 10! “Fannie Mae is committed to providing financing opportunities for high-credit quality, bona fide

Investors. Experienced investors play a key role in the housing recovery and Fannie Mae’s continued support for investor borrowers is consistent with its mission to provide stability, liquidity, and affordability to the nation’s housing system.”

Second Home or Investment Property

Minimum FICO scores are to be greater than 720 with a maximum LTV of 70% on Cash-Out Refinances (1 Unit) & Purchase & Cash Out Refinance (2-4 Unit). 1 Unit Purchase Max LTV 75%.

These changes take effect March 1^st, 2009. Read it here!

$17 Million Aid for San Diego County will help up to 300 low and middle income households. The funds designed to aid the clean up of neighborhoods plagued with foreclosures and provide affordable housing opportunities.

The money is expected to turn hundreds of renters into homeowners and deeply subsidize rents for the lowest-income households.

The money comes from a $4 billion pot set aside by the federal housing and urban development for “neighborhood stabilization” contained in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act signed into law last summer by President George Bush.

The city of San Diego has been the largest recipient of these funds with $9.4 million, $5.1 million going to the county and Cula Vista receiving $2.8 million.

The housing agencies have all had their plans approved by the federal government but haven’t formally launched their programs. The funds are expected to be released in the Spring and all funds must be committed to within 18 months.

Of all homes listed in the MLS in san Diego county, 1,675 are bank owned homes!

• Summarized from today’s Union Tribune by Dave Rozansky of Boost Equity Corp.

According to Standard & Poor’s and Fiserv, San Diego is the 6^th weakest housing market when looking at Metro areas with the biggest price declines. San Diego experienced a 25.8% price drop between November 2007 to November 2008. Low end homes under $306,500 saw the biggest price drop of 33.7% in August with declines slowing to 30.5% in November. Since the peak of June 2006 the index for the low end has dropped 46.7%

Middle Group homes price decline between $306,500 and $453,097 peaked at 25.4% in September and backed off to 22.2% in November. From its peak in November 2005 this group has had a 36.5% drop.

Most people are waiting to purchase as short sale homes and foreclosures are taking a long time for banks to process.

When it comes to high end properties, Sellers are holding off on listing their homes unless they absolutely have to, even then the home needs to be a 10, or sellers must be prepared to take a discount.

Buyers in the upper end have trouble obtaining Jumbo loans that carry higher interest rates and stricter underwriting standards than lower-valued mortgages.