October 17, 2002
Governor Janklow Announces "One-Two Punch" to
Increase South Dakota Homeownership
Gov. Bill Janklow announced today that the South Dakota Housing Development Authority's Board of Commissioners has loosened the purchase price limits and lowered the interest rates for their Single Family Homeownership Program.
"The interest rates follow the trends of the market, and SDHDA does a great job of keeping them affordable," said Janklow. "But loosening the purchase price limits across the board is a monumental victory for South Dakota."
Cost of housing has increased significantly in the past eight years, but the federal purchase price limits haven't, leaving many South Dakotans unable to purchase the home they have wanted at an interest rate they could afford.
"We've been asking Congress to fix this problem for years, and they have failed to do it. So, with the help of nationally recognized legal counsel, which works closely with the IRS, we've devised a way to increase our purchase price limits and stay within the unreasonable law that Congress has given us," said Bill Earley, Chairman of the South Dakota Housing Development Authority Board.
The purchase price limit for existing homes in all but three counties has increased from $60,987 to $113,210, with limits in Minnehaha and Lincoln Counties increasing from $112,288 to $149,103 and Pennington County increasing from $104,630 to $140,121. New home construction purchase price limits have increased to $149,103 statewide.
The limits, which are imposed by federal law for the First-time Homebuyer Program, are normally adjusted annually. That hasn't been the case since the fall of 1994 when the IRS declared the data on which it based the increases to be unreliable, and Congress failed to provide any satisfactory alternative.
In other news, SDHDA has also lowered their 30-year fixed mortgage loan rate to 4.95%, and their step rate now starts at 3.95%. These are the lowest mortgage rates offered in SDHDA's 29 year history.
"Interest rates starting at 3.95% and purchase prices of up to $113,210 plus. Now is the time for South Dakotans to buy," according to Janklow. "Nothing makes me happier than to help South Dakotans become homeowners. It has a positive effect on the economic impact to our communities and provides stability to the state as a whole."
The South Dakota Housing Development Authority (SDHDA) is an independent, quasi-public agency that finances and develops affordable housing opportunities for low and moderate-income residents throughout South Dakota. SDHDA is totally self-supporting and receives no tax money, appropriations or other funding from the State. SDHDA does not discriminate against any person because of race, color, religion, sex, handicapped, familial status or national origin.
