New loan limits help Northern Utah buyers
Christmas came early for house-hunters in Box Elder, Davis, Morgan and Weber counties when two federal agencies announced homebuyers in these areas will have greater access to mortgage loans. The first announcement came from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which said it will raise the conforming loan limit 6.9 percent in 2019 from $453,100 to $484,350. This applies to all counties in Utah except Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele, which the government considers high-cost areas. Salt Lake and Tooele counties will have a limit of $600,300, and Summit will max out at $726,525. The new limits go into effect Jan. 1, 2019. This is an important change because conforming loans can be one of the most affordable mortgage types. Local …
2019 Real Estate Forecast
Even though real estate sales have slowed slightly in recent months, the housing market should remain healthy. That’s according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, who presented his 2019 housing forecast earlier this month at the association’s annual conference. “2017 was the best year for home sales in 10 years, and 2018 is only down 1.5 percent year to date,” Yun said. “Statistically, it is a mild twinge in the data and a very mild adjustment compared to the long-term growth we’ve been experiencing over the past few years.” Although U.S. home sales will likely be down for 2018, Yun expects a slight rebound in 2019 with a 1 percent increase and more growth in …