Demand for mortgages from banks declined in the third quarter and many banks further tightened underwriting.

ARMs accounted for 10.7% of mortgage applications last week.

Priorities at FHA include facilitating loan assumptions and originations of small-balance mortgages.

GSE securitization of mortgages with private MI declined in the third quarter while FHA activity increased.

FHA Commissioner Julia Gordon cautioned attendees at the annual conference of the Mortgage Bankers Association not to expect a further cut to the mortgage insurance premium rate anytime soon.

Both the FHA and VA programs saw increases, but the bulk of the growth in Ginnie issuance in the third quarter came from FHA loans.

FHA Commissioner Julia Gordon said creating the infrastructure FHA wants from a technology perspective or a contracting perspective is difficult in the current environment.

The comment period closed last week on a July proposal from HUD.

Lending tied to the GSEs will largely carry on as usual though government-insured business could face some difficulties during a government shutdown.

Brokers saw the biggest sequential increase in FHA/VA business, with volume up 59.1% from the first quarter to $13.35 billion.