$178 billion insured, commissioner says
By MortgageDaily.com staff
11/13/2003

Government-insured residential mortgages set a record in the fiscal year 2003.

The Federal Housing Administration insured $178 billion worth of single-family mortgages, up 8% from the record $163 billion in fiscal year 2002, announced FHA commissioner John C. Weicher at the recent Mortgage Bankers Association of America annual conference in San Diego.

FHA, or the Federal Housing Administration, says its mission is to build and maintain healthy, prosperous neighborhoods and expand opportunities for affordable homeownership.

The record amount was derived from over 1.3 million mortgages, of which refinancings accounted more than half the share, said Weicher.

An 80% of home purchase mortgages were for first-time homebuyers.

The FHA serves about 16% of the home purchase market, said the commissioner. Additionally, FHA serves 30% of low-income homebuyers and 35 to 45 percent of all first-time homebuyers.

"These families are risky, so the conventional market won't serve them, but we can -- and we do it without losing money," added Weicher.

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