In a conference call with reporters Wednesday, Julian Castro, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said that President Obama plans to announce a reduction in the monthly mortgage insurance fees for FHA loans. The FHA currently charges 1.35% per year in mortgage insurance fees. The new rate will reportedly be 0.85% per year, a full 0.5% reduction. This will be the equivalent of a 0.5% reduction in interest rates for FHA mortgage holders and could mean savings of up to thousands of dollars per year.
The announcement is expected to come from the President in a speech in Phoenix on Thursday. Many of the details of the pending change are still unknown, like if current FHA loan holders will need to refinance through the FHA streamline program to get the new lower mortgage insurance rate. But there is no doubt that this will be a boon to FHA loan holders and to potential home buyers.
We’ll keep you updated with more information as it comes out.
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