A surge in refinance activity helped push up Federal Housing Administration lending by nearly three-quarters on a month-over-month basis. Loan performance also made a big improvement.
Data released from the Department of Housing and Urban Development indicate that FHA endorsed 88,518 residential loans for $17.645 billion in March.
Business skyrocketed from a month prior, when mortgagees successfully obtained endorsements on 55,466 loans for $10.205 billion.
Activity also leapt from the same month last year, when 56,452 loans were endorsed for $9.936 billion.
Endorsements amounted to 215,462 units for $40.935 billion during the first three months of this year. Since starting fiscal-year 2015 on Oct. 1, 2014, FHA has endorsed 432,636 loans for $79.841 billion.
March 2015 endorsements included 83,444 single-family loans for $16.378 billion, nearly doubling the 50,411 loans endorsed a month earlier for $8.891 billion.
Single-family refinance share soared to 45.4 percent from just 26.5 percent in February. In the same month last year, refinance share was only 26.1 percent.
Another
4,634 home-equity conversion mortgages were endorsed for $1.258 billion, off from 4,716 HECMs endorsed for $1.307 billion in February.
Also included in the latest production were 440 Title 1 loans for $0.009 billion, up from the previous month’s 339 loans for $0.007 billion.
New single-family and HECMÂ business is likely to soften based on new loan applications, which slipped to 184,216 in March from 189,294 one month previous.
FHA insurance was in force on 8,362,287 residential loans for $1.210 trillion as of March 31, down from 8,405,042 loans for $1.2186 trillion as of the end of the previous month.
As of March 31, 2014, FHA’s book of business was 8,482,366 loans for $1.2430 trillion.
The March 2015 book included $1.0603 trillion in single-family loans, $0.1483 trillion in HECMs and $0.0010 trillion in Title I loans.
Delinquency of at least 30 days on the residential portion of FHA’s book tumbled to 11.47 percent from 12.61 percent at the end of February. At the end of March 2014, the rate was 12.61 percent.
The most-recent number reflected a 2.18 percent foreclosure rate and an 0.96 percent bankruptcy rate.
FHA’s 90-day rate was 6.42 percent as of March 2015.
In FHA’s commercial mortgage business, total endorsements rose to 30 loans for $0.389 billion from 66 mortgages endorsed for $0.294 billion in February.
FHA endorsed 143 commercial real estate loans for $1.378 billion in March 2014.
March 2015 CRE loan endorsements included $0.163 billion in multifamily loans and $0.226 billion in nursing home loans.
The latest activity left FHA with insurance in force on 13,988 CRE loans for $0.1028 trillion.
FHA CRE outstandings were 13,967 loans for $0.1024 trillion a month earlier and 13,474 loans for $0.0962 trillion a year earlier.
The most-recent CRE outstandings included $0.0714 trillion in multifamily loans, $0.0236 trillion in nursing home loans and $0.0078 trillion in hospital loans.
