Fannie and Freddie Preparing for 3 % Down Payment Mortgage Programs
Donald Layton, the chief executive of Freddie Mac, is feeling positive about the new 3% down payment mortgage programs the government-sponsored enterprise is launching next month.
Speaking in an interview with Housing-Wire Magazine today, Layton said the 97% loan-to-value option will be primarily extended to borrowers who can prove a “very good income.”
Furthermore, he reinforced that underwriting standards are stronger than ever and that their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, will maintain the overall direction of the products, also becoming available at Fannie Mae.
Just today, Freddie raised its 2015 mortgage originations forecast to $1.3 trillion, up from $1.2 trillion last month, a very good sign for the real estate market in general. The forecast for the refinance share of originations in 2015 was also revised up from 35% to 40%.
The Freddie Mac 3% down payment mortgage programs will help many people, but even Freddie officials are tempering their enthusiasm.
“We don’t have outsized expectations,” Layton said of the program. He agreed to publicly release the actual mortgage volume number on the initiative once the programs get going.
Sun American Mortgage Company is pleased to announce we will be joining Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in making the lower down payments available immediately for our clients, and we remind them we also have low down payment mortgage programs that only require a .5% down payment programs for some borrowers, and other programs available with down payment assistance for borrowers in certain areas with borrowers within certain income ranges.
Call us to see how these changes can help you or a loved one take advantage of market conditions that are improving for many people.
