The Department of Veterans Affairs guaranteed $68.2 billion of single-family loans for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, an 80% spike from last year. Refinancings drove most of the increase with VA guaranteeing 144,800 transactions. A year ago it backed just 37,300 refis. Purchase mortgage transactions rose 27% to 180,900 loans in FY 2009. Despite these impressive volumes, VA officials seem most pleased with the performance of the new loans. "VA is performing extremely very well," said Mark Bologna, the director of the VA home loan guarantee program. "We outperform every other product on the market including prime loans," he told National Mortgage News Online. The VA's seriously delinquent rate is 4.69%, compared to 5.44% for prime loans, according to the latest delinquency figures compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association. VA officials contend that one of the reasons for the performance is that the agency did not bend to industry pressure during the housing boom to allow loan officers and mortgage brokers to select their own appraisers. VA approves, monitors and selects appraisers for property evaluations. This has resulted in "good solid values," he said. "It has proven to be a good decision."
VA Loan Volume Rises 80% in Fiscal Year
Published October 19, 2009, 1:00 p.m. EDT
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