New business dipped in the first month of this year at the Federal Housing Administration, but an escalation in new applications points to a strong first quarter. Delinquency, meanwhile, was down again.
Operational data released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development
indicate that FHA endorsed 71,477 residential loans for $13.085 billion during January.
The total — which includes single-family loans, home-equity conversion mortgages and Title I loans — was off from the previous month, when there were 72,997 endorsements for $13.185 billion.
But activity ascended from January 2014, when FHA endorsed 70,740 loans for $12.753 billion.
Since starting its fiscal-year 2015 on Oct. 1, 2014, FHA has endorsed
288,651 loans for $51.991 billion.
The January 2015 total included $11.730 billion in single-family mortgages, $1.350 billion in HECMs and $0.005 billion in Title I loans.
January ended with FHA insurance in force on 8,427,841 residential loans for $1.2244 trillion.
The book of business was 8,422,968 loans for $1.2245 trillion a month earlier and 8,517,933 loans for $1.2453 trillion a year earlier.
The Jan. 31, 2015, total included $1.0748 trillion in single-family loans, $0.1485 trillion in HECMs and $0.0010 trillion in Title I loans.
FHA’s total single-family
delinquency of at least 30 days, including foreclosures and bankruptcies, declined to 13.30 percent from 13.47 percent at the end of last year. It was the second consecutive month of improvement.
At the same point last year, the rate was 14.23 percent.
The most recent ratio reflected a 6.96 percent 90-day rate, a 2.16 percent foreclosure rate and an 0.98 percent bankruptcy rate.
In the commercial real estate business, FHA endorsed 56 mortgages for $0.527 billion. CRE activity slowed from 130 units endorsed for $0.840 billion in December 2014 and 93 commercial mortgages for $0.906 billion in January 2014.
January 2015 CRE loan endorsements included $0.382 billion in multifamily activity and $0.145 billion in nursing home loan endorsements.
Fiscal year-to-date 2015 CRE loan endorsements totaled 399 commercial mortgages for $3.354 billion.
HUD said that insurance was in force on 13,965 commercial mortgages for $0.1024 trillion as of the close of January 2015.
The CRE loan book of business grew from 13,936 loans for $0.1022 trillion the previous month and 13,440 commercial mortgages for $0.0952 trillion at the same point last year.
CRE outstandings as of the most-recent date consisted of $0.0711 trillion in multifamily loans, $0.0234 trillion in nursing home loans and $0.0079 trillion in hospital loans.
