“There is a boom in new condo developments in Miami-Dade and Broward areas, but financing is limited to those with 25 percent down payments for a limited review or on projects with ample reserves and less investor concentration,” Mani said. “We have a process in place at PRMG to approve a single condo or the whole project for Fannie financing, this takes a little bit time and requires a lot of team work with Realtor partners and clients.”

Mortgage rates have remained consistently low throughout the first weeks of 2015. The national average has gone up to 3.77 percent for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for people with credit ratings between 740 and 850 with at least 20 percent down, according to Zillow Mortgages. Rates had fallen has low as 3.548 percent in the closing days of January. Florida’s rates track the national average at 3.77 percent for a 30-year fixed rate. They had fallen as low as 3.539 percent in January.

New Federal Housing Administration guidelines will lower the amount of interest paid by consumers on its loans. The FHA insures mortgages with down payments as low as 3.5 percent and had raised the cost of its premiums to 1.35 percent in 2013. Instead, borrowers will face premiums half a percent lower at 0.85 percent. The change may not put much more cash in the pockets of borrowers – it will save them about $25 on a 30-year, $100,000 mortgage – and will not affect loan origination. The change could bring in some new borrowers, but other low-cost options are available and the savings are so minimal that they probably won’t be enough to sway a potential homebuyer.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act goes into effect this year. The rule means that qualified mortgages administered by the FHA loans issued after Jan. 21 are required to have substantially equal payments. They won’t be eligible for post-payment interest charges or balloon payments. According to HUD, these charges cost homebuyers an estimated $449 million in 2012.