Mortgage Financing Increases While Distressed Sales Fall: Survey

The popularity of FHA mortgages is slowing down, while the use of mortgage financing is growing overall, according to the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey.

“Conventional mortgages are making a comeback while FHA mortgages are not,” said Thomas Popik, research director for Campbell Surveys. “Reasons for the growth in conventional mortgages include low rates, increased underwriting of high LTV mortgages by private mortgage insurers, and a price structure including insurance premiums that is cheaper than the FHA alternative.”

FHA-backed transactions made a slight increase in August to 25.9 percent from 25.5 percent in July. The percentage is down from January, when FHA transactions accounted for 27.3 percent of all home purchase transactions.

Overall, mortgages were used to finance 68.9 percent of home purchase transactions in August, an increase from 67.5 percent in July…

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