The production of loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration has fallen four months in a row. FHA delinquency also deteriorated.
FHA endorsements were 157,119 for $28.7 billion during November, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Activity fell from October’s 176,279 endorsements for $32.2 billion and has fallen each month since July, when FHA endorsements were 197,613 loans for $37 billion.
Endorsements totaled just 128,794 for $22.9 billion in November of last year.
Purchase transactions accounted for 59 percent of last month’s activity, and refinance share was 36 percent.
The rest of last month’s volume came from home-equity conversion mortgage activity. Reverse mortgage production fell to 7,738 endorsements for $2.2 billion from 8,772 for $2.6 billion in October and 7,771 for $1.6 billion in November 2008.
Included in November’s activity were 1,637 Section 203(k) endorsements, 9,252 condominium endorsements and 3,713 adjustable-rate mortgage endorsements. Manufactured housing endorsements were 2,545.
The weighted-average FICO score for all of November’s endorsements was 694, the same as a month earlier.
During the first two months of the government’s fiscal-year 2010, FHA endorsed 333,398 loans. For all of fiscal 2010, HUD projects 1.875 million FHAÂ endorsements.
FHA mortgage originations are headed lower based on new FHA applications, which fell to 205,808 from October’s 253,503. Applications were 163,343 a year ago.
The falling activity helped push the average processing time from application to closing down to 6.5 weeks from 6.7 weeks in October.
As of Nov. 30, HUDÂ reported that 5,721,487 FHA-insured loans were outstanding for $733.6 billion, rising from 5,614,948 loans for $714.0 billion a month earlier and 4,594,361 loans for $516.7 billion a year earlier.
Delinquency of at least 90 days was 8.9 percent in November, higher than 8.7 percent the previous month. A year ago, serious delinquency stood at 6.5 percent.
