Media reports and some initial projections are raising concerns about a possible shortfall in FHA reserves, but government officials and some industry experts are maintaining that the program is in good shape and won’t need a subsidy from taxpayers. The Department of Housing and Urban Development only gets a snapshot of its Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund once a year, and the audit done in September 2008 showed... Read More

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is working on a new appraisal policy that may take parts of the controversial Home Valuation Code of Conduct into account, and other changes affecting FHA appraisals will take effect next month. Contrary to published reports that the Department of Housing and Urban Development would not implement the HVCC to cover FHA loans, Stevens said he... Read More

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is doing everything it can to support the Obama administration’s loan modification plan, but FHA Commissioner Dave Stevens told lawmakers that he’d like to see the program’s speed pick up, given the resources being devoted to it. Stevens and other government and private mortgage industry officials gave the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing... Read More

The Department of Housing and Urban Development last week finalized regulations establishing testing standards for counselors participating in the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Program. The final rule also establishes a HECM counseling roster of eligible HECM counselors. “This rule is intended to contribute to improving the quality of HECM counseling, which enables elderly homeowners to make more informed... Read More

FHA endorsements decreased almost 20 percent in early August, and FHA refinances hit their lowest level since January as climbing mortgage rates put an end to the refi boom. Compared to the second half of July, FHA purchase endorsements dropped off 16.0 percent and refinances fell 24.5 percent, according to the latest Department of Housing and Urban Development data. Refis also made up just 37.5 percent of the... Read More

FHA refinance activity has been relatively subdued in 2009 compared to the overall mortgage market, but several top FHA markets posted surprisingly high refinance totals. According to a new special report by Inside Mortgage Finance Publications, New Jersey – the third-largest FHA lending state in the first six months of 2009 – saw 72.8 percent of its total FHA volume come from refinances, the highest... Read More

The FHA will temporarily insure mortgages for multifamily properties that were unable to complete construction due to a loss of funding. This is a departure from the agency’s long-standing policy but should help prop up the troubled sector. Mortgagee Letter 2009-26 said the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s new authority is limited to new construction and waives the requirement that... Read More