FHA - The Only Game in Town?

As reported by Realty Times:

"The country's top housing official has an urgent message for potential home buyers: You may have heard that the credit markets were 'frozen,' but FHA has been open for business throughout the credit squeeze, and so are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In fact, FHA's volume has tripled and the agency is now insuring well over a hundred thousand new loans a month.

In an exclusive one-on-one interview with Realty Times, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston said that FHA, Fannie and Freddie -- who account for a combined 90 percent plus share of the entire U.S. mortgage market -- 'have kept liquidity alive' for home buyers -- and have virtually unlimited funds for new mortgages.

'There is no credit crisis' for individual home buyers who have at least three percent to put down, documentable employment, and at least a moderately good credit record, said Preston."

We might add that we're definitely noticing this trend with our real estate projects. A major contributing factor is that FHA still only requires a minimal down payment which continues to enable a market that would otherwise no longer exist in consideration of our current credit environment.