With growing concern that the real estate values will be going down further across the country, FNMA and lenders will be analyzing the regional areas and labeling them as stressed or soft. The following are a list of criteria my lenders will be using. •         Markets that are identified as stressed, financing limited to 10% below maximum financing per program description •         Markets that are identified as soft, financing limited to 5% below maximum financing per program description•         LTV/TLTV reduction is not required when maximum financing per program description is 60% LTV/TLTV or less•         Additional Appraisal Requirements when loan is subject to Soft Market Application•         Three (3) closed sales within the last six (6) months, and•         At least one (1), preferably two (2) comparable pending sales validating the market is at least stable.•         The appraiser should detail neighborhood marketing data for any changes in the market for the most recent quarter for which data is available to include:              -number of listings     -average marketing time     -sales to list price ratio     -the appearance of seller concessions What does this mean to you, the borrower?  Your loan amount might be reduced by virtue of the home being in one of these areas.  You might be paying for a home that has a chance of going down in value after you buy it and it will become slightly harder to obtain financing.   I am not telling you not to do anything or not to buy a house, I am simply saying be aware.  Nobody is quite sure how long or how far the decline in the real estate market will go.  It will go down though. That is for sure.  Consumers, beware! –      Dale Siegel