The Black Homeownership Collaborative also asks HUD to ditch a “life of loan” requirement that forces homeowners to continue paying mortgage insurance premiums in perpetuity.
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Real estate industry trade groups are renewing their push for lower FHA mortgage insurance premiums, this time under the auspices of the Black Homeownership Collaborative.
In a letter to Secretary of Housing Marcia Fudge Wednesday, trade groups including the Mortgage Bankers Association and the National Association of Realtors urged Fudge to “meaningfully reduce” FHA’s annual mortgage insurance premium (MIP) and ditch a “life of loan” requirement that forces homeowners to continue paying those premiums in perpetuity.
Marcia Fudge
The letter to Fudge — the second Black woman to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) — was also signed by civil rights and fair housing groups including the NAACP and the National Urban League.
“Lowering the annual MIP would help reduce the cost of buying a home with an FHA mortgage, and ending the life of loan requirement would contribute to building wealth through homeownership in the Black community,” the groups said.
NAR, the MBA and other real estate trade groups made a similar pitch last month to the White House National Economic Council, arguing that a fund that covers losses on FHA loans has recovered from the last housing downturn, and that first-time homebuyers need relief from rising home prices and mortgage rates.
The renewed push for lower FHA premiums comes as HUD officials who oversee FHA lending prepare to deliver an annual report to Congress next month on the program’s financial health.
Last year’s report on the financial health of the FHA Mutual Mortgage…