LOS ANGELES – The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) responded to President Obama’s upcoming announcement to cut the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) mortgage insurance premiums by 50 basis points with the following:
“Reducing FHA mortgage insurance premiums will make it easier for hundreds of thousands of home buyers to get a mortgage and provide greater access to homeownership for historically underserved groups and credit worthy families,” said C.A.R. President Chris Kutzkey. “Moreover, this shift in policy will also increase the volume of borrowers using FHA-backed loans, while continuing to contribute to the solvency of FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund and making the dream of homeownership a reality for millions more Americans.”
The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) estimates that in 2013, nearly 400,000 creditworthy borrowers were priced out of the housing market because of high FHA insurance premiums. Over the past four years, the share of first-time home buyers using FHA-backed loans shrank from 56 percent to 39 percent.
Read the California Realtors R press release here.
Clint Patterson (BRE #01877253) with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties is a real estate professional specializing in Rolling Hills, Palos Verdes Peninsula and Los Angeles South Bay beach cities, and a member CALIFORNIA REALTORS®.