If you are thinking about entering the Arizona real estate market as a first time buyer you may need to adjust your price target for a home a little lower after October 1st.

There is a change to the FHA loan limits. Previously the FHA would consider loans up to $346,250 in the county of Maricopa but as of October 1st 2011 that limit falls to $271,050. If you want

Statistics

Number of active properties listed up to $271,050 in Arizona Multiple Listing Service (MLS) – 13,060

Of those in Scottsdale – 566

Of those Scottsdale Homes that are single family detached: 160

What Does This Mean To You?

If the market improves and prices genuinely firm up it’s going to be very difficult to find single family homes that are affordable in Scottsdale with an FHA loan.

First time buyers the best way to over come this hurdle is to have plenty of money to put down so you can comfortably get a traditional loan. You may have heard people say cash is king in this market. Referring to investors with cash scooping up the best of the lender owned homes and short sales.

Even for first time buyers cash is king. The closer you get to 20% downpayment the easier it’s going to be to get that traditional loan.

Also if you are thinking to buy in the near future it’s never to early to start getting your credit score to improve. You can talk to a mortgage broker at your bank or find one locally and they can go over with you ideas to get your credit score looking at it’s very best.

One more interesting statistic is that today there are 127 Scottsdale single family detached homes for sale priced between $271,050 and $346,250. As of October 1st those homes that once were inside the FHA limit will be outside the limit, so there may be some price reductions and or buying opportunities in this range.