Debt Burdens Crept Slightly Higher In 2016 for FHA and VA Borrowers
February 17, 2017
FHA and VA borrowers took on slightly greater payment obligations in 2016 than they have in previous years, according to a new analysis and servicer ranking by Inside FHA/VA Lending. The average debt-to-income ratio for FHA loans securitized in Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities last year was 40.4 percent, up about half a percentage point from 2015. The average VA DTI ratio nudged up slightly to 38.3 percent. Average credit scores in the FHA program drifted slightly lower, while climbing 1.9 points for VA loans. The differences in credit quality between the two programs remained substantial: the VA attracts borrowers with higher credit scores and lower DTI ratios who take on larger loans. Some 36.3 percent of VA loans backing Ginnie MBS issued last year had credit scores of 740 and up, while just 13.2 percent of FHA loans fell in that category. Meanwhile, 67.1 percent of FHA loans had ...