The rate of serious delinquency among Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages dropped in February, a sign that the performance of some home loans is improving.
According to the federal government, 553,929 loans – or 9.2 percent of the number the FHA insures – were more than 90 days delinquent last month, marking a slight improvement from January. That month, 9.4 percent of loans were seriously delinquent.
Still, the state of the FHA’s loan portfolio has worsened significantly in the past year. Last February, FHA data shows, just 7.3 percent of mortgage loans were seriously delinquent.
FHA-backed loans have come under fire from some corners; allegations that the administration’s lending standards are too lax have been mounting in recent months. In a bid to lower the risk profile of the loans it insures, the FHA announced recently that borrowers would have to post more in mortgage insurance – ensuring that mortgagees have more skin in the game – and forbade sellers from granting price concessions that were greater than 3 percent.
