A nationwide glut of new condominiums has prompted developers to use new marketing ploys to sell their units. One increasingly popular move: get a government stamp of approval for the entire building.
From the Wall Street JournalThe approval, from the Federal Housing Administration, means potential buyers can more easily qualify for a low-down-payment mortgage backed by the FHA — a highly coveted amenity in this era of tight credit.
Condo developers are able to sell units at better prices to FHA-approved buyers than they would in all-cash sales to investors, sometimes with premiums as high as 20% to first-time buyers with FHA financing, says Grant Stern, president of Morningside Mortgage Corp. in Bay Harbor Islands, Fla.
“First-time buyers are more focused on the down payment and the monthly payment than the total cost,” he says.
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