According to both the Star-Advertiser and Bloomberg Business News, President Obama plans to have the FHA reduce its annual mortgage insurance premiums by 0.5 percentage points, to 0.85 percent.
What does this mean? If you are a first-time homebuyer or able to refinance into a government-backed FHA loan, you could see a great reduction in your costs. Each mortgage needs to be covered by mortgage insurance, in case of problems, and that cost is usually added to your monthly payment. With this announcement, the government hopes to spur more buying by making the insurance premium more affordable.
Of course, with any of these loan products, there are positive and negatives to each. If you are thinking about buying or refinancing, I recommend contacting your lending agent for more complete information. If you need help finding a qualified agent or have any other questions, please feel free to contact me!