I've got baaaaaaaaaaaaaddd news for anyone who is trying to sell a home for more than the Jumbo max ($417k). Your pool of prospective buyers, already freaked out by collapsing home prices, now can't get a mortgage even if they wanted to. God forbid an interest-only, no-down mortgage either. Those days are O-V-E-R. And so are 2005 prices.
Yes, the housing crash really goes into overdrive now, thank you Mortgage Meltdown, and the realities of Jumbo mortgages and the death of confidence.
Subprime Mortgage Woes Spreading - Subprime Mortgage Crisis Spreading to High-End Housing Market
As lending has rapidly gotten more restrictive for borrowers taking out large loans, sales of expensive homes have fallen sharply around the country during what should be one of the busiest seasons for buyers and sellers, mortgage bankers and real estate agents say.
"Showings are down, contracts written are down, and sellers are just as backed away as buyers are," said Lou Barnes, a partner in mortgage bank and brokerage Boulder West Financial Services in Boulder, Colo. The company arranges for financing on many higher-priced condominiums and houses in the state.
"I think the psychological damage is worse than the financial damage" which is already bad enough, he said. Even for buyers who have plenty of cash or can easily afford higher mortgage rates, the sudden change in the financing environment reduces "the ardor to buy a house unless you have to," he adds.



