Higher insurance premiums are taking a toll on FHA single-family originations and it is also causing a shift in the credit scores of its borrowers.
New Federal Housing Administration data show that 40.5% of new borrowers in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013 had credit scores of 640 to 679, up from 34.2% a year ago.
The percentage of borrowers with credit scores above 719 dropped to 23.6% in the fourth quarter (ending Sept. 30), down from 31% in 4Q 2012.
The new data also show there was spike in applications for FHA-insured reverse mortgages in September due to significant changes in product choices.
Applications for
