The boom in FHA lending that began in late 2007 may have peaked in the third quarter of last year, but production volume in 2008 remained at exceptionally high levels as the year came to a close.According to a new Inside FHA Lending analysis of government data, some $253.05 billion of single-family mortgages were insured by the agency in... [Includes two charts and one graph] Read More

The default rate for FHA mortgages has spiked to its highest-ever level as government lending continues to see its share of the mortgage market explode. Some experts think the trend will soon force the Department of Housing and Urban Development to tighten up its underwriting standards. The latest two-year data cycle ending Dec. 31 show that 4.31 percent of FHA-insured loans are in... Read More

Trying to provide as many options as possible to prevent foreclosures, HUD granted a 30-day extension of its FHA foreclosure moratorium to lenders that make a last-ditch effort to work with borrowers by using the Hope Now Alliance’s Project Lifeline Initiative. The initiative, announced in February by Hope Now, attempts to save 90-plus-days delinquent homeowners by giving them... Read More

Foreclosure avoidance as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program and improvements to the HOPE for Homeowners program are expected to be major components of the Obama administration’s emerging policy. Congress appears likely to support major revisions to H4H, which has so far generated little business volume. The House Financial Services Committee next week will mark up legislation that... Read More

The mortgage environment isn’t all doom and gloom, at least not for Residential Finance Corp., an FHA mortgage refinance specialist that is taking advantage of some industry departures and other opportunities to expand its domestic U.S. footprint, particularly in Ohio and Florida. Residential Finance has been in growth mode since at least June, most recently launching... Read More

Mortgage broker blogs are abuzz with the introduction of legislation Jan. 16 to revise and reinstate seller-funded downpayments for single-family mortgages insured by FHA. As it turned out, Nehemiah Corp.’s outreach arm, Groundswell2, has been sending out e-mails asking mortgage brokers to urge Congress to include H.R. 600 in the new stimulus package sought by President Obama to... Read More

The House of Representatives this week approved a massive $819 billion economic recovery package that would restore FHA high-cost loan limits to the same level that was in effect in 2008. Conforming loan limits for FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ran as high as $727,750 last year, but they were reduced to $625,500 on Jan. 1, 2009, by the 2008 housing act... Read More