Want to get the most for your money when buying that next house?  Well, now may be the time.  Your comfort with your mortgage payment is typically what is the driving factor in how much you will pay for a home.  

If you get a conforming loan (Loan amount under $625,500) you can obtain some of the most favorable interest rates available.  If you go above this amount your loan falls into the category of a Jumbo Loan, which is considered a much riskier loan and your interest rate is much higher (can be as much as 1% higher).

Well:

Mortgage costs just got cheaper for buyers in high-cost areas. (Great Article) The size of loans that can be guaranteed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae was raised today by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. The new, higher loan limits will stay in effect through the end of the year, allowing the government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), to buy much higher-priced mortgages in some areas of the country.

Honolulu’s new conforming loan amount might be $729,750, however, it is believed that Hawaii will see it’s conforming loan amount at just above $1,000,000.  that decision will be made by April 1st. 

This is slated to last for a year only.  So, let’s say you bought or refinanced within the next year and are able to get a $1,000,000 loan at 6%, your payment would be $5,995.51.  If you wait to buy or refinance until the new conforming loan amount expires and it reverts back to a Jumbo Loan, that same $1,000,000 mortgage then has a 7% interest rate (hypothetical of course) and a mortgage payment of $6,653.02, for a grand total difference of $657.51 a month and $7890.12 a year.  That is more than a nice vacation!