With the private mortgage market remaining tight, home loans backed by Uncle Sam have become increasingly essential to the housing market. And in a release issued last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association detailed just how essential such support has become:
The government-insured (FHA and VA loans) share of mortgage applications was 35.9 percent in June 2009, the highest level since November 1990, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Based on data from MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, the government-insured share jumped from 25.7 percent a month earlier and 27.0 percent in June 2008. Since the MBA survey’s inception in January 1990, the lowest recorded share was 5.8 percent in August 2005.
The government-insured share of purchase applications in June was 38.6 percent, up from 27.8 percent one year ago. The government-insured share of purchase applications has averaged 36.6 percent to date in 2009, compared to an average of 21.8 percent during the same period in 2008. The low point was in August 2005 when it was 6.8 percent.
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