Thea Miller: Increase in Luxury Real Estate Loans Signals Improvement in Housing Market
Reports show that jumbo mortgages are increasing, indicating a surge in luxury home purchases. Thea Miller believes that this surge in loan activity signifies that the housing market is on the upswing.
Online, September 10, 2012 (Newswire.com) - The housing market has fluctuated in the last few years, at times seeming to heal from the recession and at other times still reeling from the effects of the housing bubble burst. The Wall Street Journal reports that the latest statistics show an increase in jumbo mortgages. Private-market loans, these mortgages are not backed by the federal government and are distributed in larger sums-meaning that they are largely used to purchase luxury real estate. Thea Miller believes that this increase in jumbo mortgages indicates that the housing market-or at least this sector of the real estate industry-is showing signs of improvement.
According to the article, the jumbo mortgages administered by Bank of America account for 15 percent of the mortgage loans that the company distributed throughout the second quarter of 2012. A spokesman for Bank of America asserts that this is up 4 percent from 2011. Wells Fargo & Co. has also seen an uptick in jumbo loans, as the article reports that the volume of these loans has "more than doubled in the first half of the year from the same period last year." The article notes that Citigroup Inc. has also reported a surge in jumbo mortgages.
Miller has seen an increase in jumbo loans throughout the San Francisco market. Jumbo loans, at one point, were a major part of the area's real estate market. Although the numbers have not risen as high as they once were, they are increasing significantly considering the economic climate.
"With the Bay area real estate market heating up in jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000 accounted for 36.6 percent of last month's purchase lending, up from 35.7 percent in April, and up from 32.6 percent a year ago," explains Thea Miller. "Last month's percentage was the highest since June of 2011, when 36.8 percent of all purchase loans were jumbos. Jumbo usage dropped to 17.1 percent in January of 2009. Before the credit crunch struck in August of 2007, jumbos accounted for nearly 60 percent of the Bay Area's purchase loan market."
Miller hopes that these positive numbers continue, as they will contribute to the further growth of the San Francisco luxury housing market-and the ability of her clients to buy and sell properties.
ABOUT:
Thea Miller is a sales and marketing professional who specializes in luxury properties. With over 20 years of experience, Thea Miller provides her clients with real estate guidance throughout San Francisco, California. Thea Miller offers an unsurpassed level of customer service while offering attention to detail and insightful knowledge regarding the local housing market. She is a member of The National Association of Realtors, The San Francisco Association of Realtors, The California Association of Realtors, and Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate.