Low-Downpayment Programs Quietly Returning to Market
July 22, 2016
A growing number of lenders are partnering with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offer low downpayment products requiring as little as 1 to 3 percent down. Many were announced without much fanfare and this has created a quiet comeback of sorts, according to Deutsche Bank.So far, seven lenders, including three large traditional banks, have introduced programs this year. Although the GSEs cap their high loan-to-value products at 97 percent, some lenders step in and subsidize the extra funds needed to make up the difference to help cash-strapped borrowers.The GSEs began offering their 97 percent LTV programs in late 2014 after they phased it out several years earlier.