The Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008 and Jumbo Mortgages
The Recovery Rebates and Economic
Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008
and Jumbo Mortgages
N. Eric Weiss
Analyst in Financial Economics
Government and Finance Division
Summary
H.R. 5140, the Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People
Act of 2008,1 would temporarily increase the maximum size of loans that Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac can purchase, and that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) can
insure. These new maximums would vary depending on area housing prices, but would
be $729,750 or less.
The likely result of these provisions would be to reduce interest rate and mortgage
payments on mortgages above the current $417,000 limit. For example, the monthly
principal and interest payments on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for $600,000 are likely
to fall from $3,824 to $3,377, saving $447 per month. Monthly tax and insurance
payments would be additional. A mortgage of this size would require an annual income
of more than $140,000. This could stimulate the demand for housing costing $429,900
to $768,000.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac probably would conduct cost-benefit and risk
analyses of making these loans. The Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) could insist on reviewing these new products. Regardless of its decision on
reviewing the programs, HUD would be required to calculate and publish the new loan
limits. A possible result of these procedures would be to slow Fannie Mae’s, Freddie
Mac’s, and FHA’s implementation of the programs.
This report will be updated as events warrant.
H.R. 5140, the Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People
Act of 2008, would increase the conforming loan limit for mortgages originated between
July 1, 2007, and December 31, 2008, to a maximum of $729,750 in high-cost areas. This
1 H.R. 5140 was introduced in the 110th Congress by Representative Nancy Pelosi on January 28,
2008, as a bipartisan bill with 15 cosponsors. It was passed by the House and sent to the Senate
on January 29, 2008. The Senate passed the bill on February 7, 2008.
means that the housing government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac, could purchase qualifying mortgages above the current conforming loan
limit of $417,000 and at or below the new limit. The limit for any area would be the
greater of (1) the 2008 conforming loan limit ($417,000); or (2) 125% of the area median
house price, but no more than 175% of the 2008 conforming loan limit ($729,750, which
is 175% of $417,000).
H.R. 5140 would grant the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) temporary
authority to insure mortgages in high-cost areas up to this $729,750 limit. The authority
would expire December 31, 2008. Currently the FHA limit ranges from $200,160 to
$362,790 in high-cost areas.2 The Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) would be required to publish the increased GSE and FHA limits.
The FHA limit for any area would be the greater of (1) the current limit ($200,160 to
$362,790); or (2) 125% of the area median house price, but no more than 175% of the
Many of those supporting the increases believe they would provide a needed
stimulus to housing and mortgage markets.3 The immediate impact of the changes
affecting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, however, is unclear. The Office of Federal
Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), an independent office within HUD, which
oversees the safety and soundness of the GSEs, has announced that it is “disappointed”
that increasing the limit was not part of general regulatory reform, and that the GSEs
should subject the higher priced mortgages to rigorous new product development, risk
management, and capital reserves requirements.4 This suggests that HUD might require
the GSEs to submit their plan to purchase the larger mortgages for regulatory review.5
Unlike the GSEs, FHA (part of HUD) is not under independent regulatory authority.
Given implementation delays and the limited lives of the programs, it is not clear
how much use the GSEs or FHA would make of their temporary authority. As
stockholder-owned companies, the GSEs would balance their fiduciary responsibility to
earn profits with the requirements in their congressional charters to assist housing
markets. FHA would probably consider the risk to the financial soundness of their
insurance fund against temporary assistance to parts of the housing market.
Other factors tending to limit the impact of the increased mortgage limits are as
follows:
2 FHA limits are available from HUD's website at [https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/hicost1.cfm].
3 James R. Haggerty and Damian Paletta, “Details Lacking on Mortgage-Relief Plan,” Wall Street
Journal, January 26, 2008, p. A6.
4 James Lockhart, Statement of OFHEO Director James B. Lockhart on Conforming Loan Limit
Increase, January 24, 2008, available at [http://www.ofheo.gov/NewsRoom_Print.aspx?ID=410].
See, also, OFHEO, “Potential Implications of Increasing the Conforming Loan Limit in
High-Cost Areas,” Mortgage Market Note, January 11, 2008, available at
[http://www.ofheo.gov/media/research/MMNOT E11108.pdf].
5 The Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development has new program
approval authority. See 12 U.S.C. 4542.
!Existing loan-to-value limits would continue to apply. This would
prevent homeowners who owe more on a house than its appraised value
from participating in the program. For conforming loans using a standard
5% downpayment, this would affect homes worth $438,900 to $768,000
and for FHA loans with a 3% downpayment this would allow the
purchase of homes worth $351,900 to $752,000.
!Existing credit worthiness and debt-to-income requirements would apply.
This would prevent those not current on their mortgage from refinancing.
!The GSEs’ retained portfolios currently are close to the maximum
amount that they can hold without raising additional capital. They could,
however, follow the sense of Congress suggestion in H.R. 5140 to buy
these mortgages, add their guarantees, package them into mortgage-
backed securities (MBS), and sell the MBS to large investors.
!The GSEs have announced restrictions on the mortgages that they will
purchase under the temporary increase. For example, Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac will only purchase mortgages on one-unit housing,
condominiums, and planned unit developments.6
The mortgage provisions of H.R. 5140 would
!help purchasers of homes above the current loan limits and below the
temporarily higher ones who have good credit;
!mostly help home buyers in high cost areas, such as California, New
York City and its suburbs, the Boston area, the Seattle area, and the
Washington, DC, area. The monthly principal and interest payments on
a 30-year fixed-rate $600,000 mortgage are likely to fall from $3,824 to
$3,377, saving $447 per month.7 FHA’s guidelines state that mortgage
payments, and insurance and taxes should not exceed 29% of monthly
income. A combined monthly housing expense of $3,377 would require
a minimum annual income of $140,000;
!not count mortgages purchased by the GSEs as a result of the higher loan
limit for the purpose of low- and moderate-income housing goals and
6 Fannie Mae’s purchasing guide is at [http://www.fanniemae.com/media/statements/2008
/030608.jhtml?p=Media&s=Statements], and Freddie Mac’s is at
[ h t t p : / / www.f r e ddi e ma c . c o m/ s i ngl e f a mi l y/ i n c r e a s e d_l i mi t s .ht ml ] .
7 Interest rates are based on mortgage rates reported by Bankrate.Com at
[http://www.bankrate. c o m/ b r m/ gr a p h s / graph_trend.asp?tf=91&ct=Line&prods=1,325&gs =27
&rightgap=&leftgap=&seriescolor=]. The jumbo loan interest rate used in this calculation is
underserved areas goals. HUD establishes numeric goals based on the
Housing and Community Development Act of 1992;8 and
!help FHA compete against private sector lenders and possibly open
homeownership to borrowers who for one reason or another could not
qualify for a conforming mortgage to purchase a more expensive home.
The approach taken in H.R. 5140 to raising the conforming loan limit differs from
that in H.R. 1427, Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2007, which passed the House
on May 22, 2007, and S. 2036, the Protecting Access to Safe Mortgages Act, which was
introduced in the Senate by Senator Charles E. Schumer on September 10, 2007.9 H.R.
1427 and S. 2036 would increase the conforming loan limit for Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac to the area median house price subject to a maximum of 150% of the national limit.
In 2008, absent H.R. 5140, the national limit is $417,000, making the high-cost limit
$625,500. H.R. 5140 has a higher absolute maximum ($729,750 versus $625,000 in
2008), is permanent instead of temporary, and would increase the limit in areas where
125% of the median house price exceeds the current national limit of $417,000. For
example, the most recent median existing home price data from the National Association
of Realtors (third quarter 2007), in Barnstable, Massachusetts, was $400,600. The
conforming loan limit under H.R. 5140 would increase to $500,750 in Barnstable.
8 12 U.S.C. 4562-4564 and 4566.
9 Representative Barney Frank introduced H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act
of 2007, on March 9, 2007. The five cosponsors were from both parties. Senator Schumer
introduced S. 2036 without cosponsors; it was referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs.