Higher jumbo loan limits urged

The shift to stringent underwriting standards has made large mortgages all but unattainable, and realtors are seeking changes to law that will allow more borrowers to get so-called jumbo mortgages of $417,000. Lenders have turned off the mortgage loan tap for large loans and now demand 30 percent down payments and very high credit scores. Realtors say the housing recovery of recent months has skewed heavily toward low-cost homes, and complain that properties priced higher than $500,000 can languish on the market for months or years.