Last week, regulators made getting a government-backed housing loan a little easier.

Until now, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could insure only mortgages up to $417,000 -- sticking many Loudoun County buyers with either conventional loans or complicated “exotic” loans that have higher interest rates.

Year to date, the average sales price of single family homes sold in Loudoun County is $470,592

The new mortgage limits for Fannie and Freddie were changed in hopes of boosting the downward real estate market in high-cost areas across the U.S.

Fannie and Freddie set new loan limits at $729,750 in Loudoun County and other areas around D.C.

Tony Arko, a consultant with Market Advantage Real Estate, said he believes this increase will help the Loudoun real estate market, but probably a lot less than most people think.

Arko, who maintains the Loudoun Stats blog, says there’s talk that these new loans will create a third loan category with lenders, known as "jumbo lite" loans, which will be priced between current conforming loans and traditional jumbo loans.

“The marketplace for reselling these loans to investors will then set the interest rates for these ‘jumbo lite’ loans," he said. "Most likely, the interest rate of these loans will be closer to the current jumbo rates than the conforming rates -- consequently, the new jumbo loans will probably have a higher interest rate than the current jumbo loans.”

What does this mean? Good news for buyers in the possible "jumbo lite" spectrum -- bad news for buyers looking for mortgages over $729,750 in the jumbo category.

Arko said the new loan limit may also be beneficial for homeowners looking to refinance. “This may be a good deal for those interested in consolidating a conventional loan and a home-equity loan,” he said.