In an effort to streamline its lending process, the FHA has scrapped the requirement of a 10-year protection plan for newly constructed single-family homes, according to guidelines released this week.

The use of the VA home-loan guarantee benefits by servicemembers who are first-time homebuyers has increased 110% from 2007 to 2016 in a significant shift from single-family conventional mortgages, according to a recent report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

FHA lenders can now outsource verification of a borrower’s employment, income and other assets to third-party vendors. The new guidance, which came into effect on Feb. 15, applies to all FHA forward mortgages and Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loans.

The battle among the three main federal housing agencies to attract more borrowers is getting more aggressive, according to the American Enterprise Institute.

The Trump administration’s 2020 budget seeks $44.1 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development and $400 billion in new loan commitments for FHA.

Ginnie Mae’s latest guidance raising the minimum servicing spread will have little impact because most servicers already retain well above the minimum requirement, according to analysts with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

FHA jumbo lenders ended 2018 on a sour note with total originations during the fourth quarter declining 9.7% on a sequential basis and a whopping 30.9% from a year ago. Purchase loans accounted for 74.3% of the FHA jumbo market last year. [Includes one data chart.]

FHA has tweaked its mortgage scorecard to address concerns surrounding loans with higher-risk characteristics such as cash-out refinances and high debt-to-income ratios.

Ginnie Mae issuers produced just $22.84 billion of new mortgage-backed securities in February, the lowest monthly total in nearly five years, according to a new Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis. [Includes two data charts.]

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