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Possible Changes Could Help San Diego Home Buyers

Congress' attempt to help the slumping housing market will have an effect in San Diego County -- but not a big one. KPBS reporter Ed Joyce explains.

Possible Changes Could Help San Diego Home Buyers

Congress' attempt to help the slumping housing market will have an effect in San Diego County -- but not a big one. KPBS reporter Ed Joyce explains.

Congress is planning changes that would ease lending requirements for federally-backed mortgages. Those are the low-interest loans issued by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and the Federal Housing Administration. The changes would raise the limit on those loans from $400,000 to more than $700,000.

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University of San Diego Professor Norm Miller is with the school's Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate.

Miller : Raising the conforming loan limits to $625 or $725,000 that could have a huge impact especially on California markets like San Diego.

He says making lower-interest loans available for more expensive homes would save borrowers several thousand dollars a year. Miller says that's because jumbo or non-conforming loans charge a higher rate. But he says proposed changes won't affect most local home buyers because 90 percent can't afford to buy a $400,000 home.

Ed Joyce, KPBS News.