But prices continue to rise in these desirable areas, even while buyers have pulled back from the frenzied approach they took only a few months ago. Because high-end mortgages, known as jumbo mortgages, don't fall within the conforming loan standards of Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, there is a higher risk associated with them, for which the borrowers pay a premium of a quarter point or more. Some home buyers are choosing to tap into their home's equity instead of trading up, buoyed by evidence that housing prices are still continuing to climb. Despite the pounding the stock market has taken, the nation is at its lowest unemployment point in decades, with heavy recruiting and bonus offers going on in most industries.
Consumer confidence remains high.
And people still want to buy or improve their homes. Also positive is the fact that borrowers can still get mortgage money easily. The contradiction in key data has many wondering how the housing market will be affected in the short and long term. Plus, changes in information technology have made mortgages much more accessible to borrowers by more accurately measuring an individual's risk and by giving borrowers access to more lenders. Prices are continuing to rise, according to brokers on both coasts.