Mortgage bankers funded $118 billion of Federal Housing Administration backed single-family loans during first-half of fiscal year 2011, a 19% decline from the same period last year.
In terms of number of loans, the origination of government backed products fell 25%.
The agency’s "FHA Monthly Report" also shows a slowdown in originations of FHA-insured reverse mortgages, known as ‘Home Equity Conversion Mortgages.’
Lenders endorsed $9.5 billion of HECMs during the first-half, down 23% from the same period in FY 2010.
The FHA serious delinquency rate (90 days or more past due) stood at 8.76% as of March 31, unchanged from a year ago, as the pace of foreclosures rose by only 4%.
Servicers foreclosed on nearly 47,100 FHA-insured loans and then conveyed the properties to the government. FHA property managers sold 51,500 REO properties during the first-half of FY 2011, a 30% jump from the same six months in FY 2010.
However, FHA had an REO inventory of 69,000 properties as of March 31, up 51% from a year ago. The FHA report lists the REO inventory at $9.4 billion, which includes the unpaid balance for the notes and the acquisition costs of the properties.
In FY 2010, FHA acquired 98,350 REO properties totaling $11.4 billion and sold 87,700 for $5.7 billion.
