Utah County homeowners may have inadvertently been shortchanged in this year's economic-stimulus package, due to standards for home loans that were revised earlier this spring.

In March, the federal government raised the limits for loans that can be purchased by mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in more than 220 cities and counties nationwide. The changes were made as a result of the economic-stimulus package signed by President Bush, temporarily raising loan limits to a new maximum of $729,750 for the continental United States.

The stimulus bill increased the cap on mortgages that the government-sponsored mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy or guarantee from the current level of $417,000 for many areas.

The revised limits are due to expire at the end of the year and will be re-evaluated to determine if the higher limits should be extended or if any changes should be made in certain counties, said George Antoine, regional economist for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In Utah, several counties received the higher loan limits, including Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties, where the loan maximum is the national top limit of $729,750. Wasatch County had an increased loan maximum of $431,250.

However, the loan limit in Utah County was set at $417,000, far below neighboring Salt Lake County, despite similar single-family housing prices.

When the new loan limits were announced in March, Matthew Prestwich, president of Homeline Mortgage Inc. in Salt Lake City, commented that "the biggest impact will be those people with loans over $417,000." He said they would be able to qualify for regular conforming loans, which have much better interest rates than non-conforming "jumbo" loans that had higher rates.

David Luna, head of the Utah Association of Mortgage Brokers, added that the higher loan limits would eventually be an ideal solution for many homeowners who needed help.

"For those that have gotten in trouble, there is a light at the end of the tunnel," Luna said. "If they have overextended themselves, including those in bankruptcy, the higher loan limits are going to help."

Prestwich said the higher limits would offer better refinancing options for those with larger mortgages.

That may have been true for homeowners in Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties, but homeowners in Utah County don't have as much flexibility because of the lower limits there.

Economists say it is too soon to determine what impact the lower limits may have on the current Utah County housing market.