Real estate transaction numbers in Keystone Colorado and the neighboring areas of Breckenridge, Silverthorne, Dillon and Frisco have been running about 1/3 of where they were last year. A big part of it has to do with financing your second home mountain real estate. Not too long ago the sad - and accurate - saying in the mortgage business was, “The only thing harder to get than a jumbo loan is a jumbo loan on a second home.” Alas, it was true - but that has changed, and changed dramatically.
Jumbo loans are those mortgages for higher-priced real estate - between $417,000 and around $730,000; values that exceed the limits set for government-controlled mortgage companies. For a variety of reasons the issuance of those loans, and the purchase of those loans, came to a screeching halt in the aftermath of the Sub-Prime mortgage fallout. To put it into perspective, Jumbo loan transactions in 2007 totaled $348 billon; while in 2008 the total dropped dramatically to $98 billon.
Of course this situation led to a softening of the mountain resort real estate market. Many of our properties in Keystone, Dillon, Frisco, Silverthorne and Breckenridge fall within that price range.
But just like many other aspects of the economy, the Jumbo mortage market is regaining its health, which makes buying a second home in Summit County far more accessible and convenient. Late last month JP Morgan Chase & Co., along with CitiGroup, Inc. announced that they are back in the Jumbo mortgage business. JPMorgan resumed buying new jumbo loans made by other lenders in June, after halting purchases in March.
“What we have seen in the market is that while there are great real estate purchase opportunities in the mountain resort markets, the general public still believes that mortgages are impossible to obtain,” says Brett Sawyer, Managing Broker for Re/Max Properties of the Summit in Keystone. “We have local and national lending resources that can provide very competitive loan packages - rates, down payments, amortization schedules - to appropriately-qualified buyers,” continues Mr Sawyer. “Keystone and the surrounding mountain resort communities are experiencing one of the most favorable buyer’s markets in a decade, and those that are taking advantage of it now are the ones that will enjoy the best selection of properties before the market roars back.”
To learn more about real estate opportunities in Keystone, Dillon, Frisco, Silverthorne and Breckenridge - and to gain a better education on the realities of jumbo mortages on second homes - contact Re/Max Properties of the Summit in the River Run Village of Keystone at (970) 513-0404.
Posted by: Editor
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