For years, conforming loan limits much lower than those in cities like San Francisco and New York kept many move-up buyers from purchasing homes in Chicago, stifling property sales, HousingWire reports.
But in 2013, jumbo loans — loans whose amounts exceed conforming loan limits and do not have any government backing — became more widely available due to fresh demand from private investors keen on buying the loans from lenders, the trade publication said.
Amid the return of investors to the jumbo loan market, both home sales and prices have leaped more than 20 percent year over year in September, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors.
