White House to roll out plan to lower first-time home buyers' mortgage costs
Reuters
Published Feb 22, 2023 05:12AM ET
(Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday will unveil a plan to reduce mortgage insurance fees charged to first-time home buyers, helping an estimated 850,000 borrowers save about $800 a year on the cost of a typical loan, it said in a statement.
Vice President Kamala Harris will announce the plan to lower fees on Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans at an event in the Washington suburb of Bowie, Maryland.
The FHA charges the fees to insure lenders against riskier loans often taken out by lower-income home-buyers.
U.S. home sales dropped to their lowest level in more than 12 years in January as inflation-driven interest rake hikes push mortgage rates higher, often making property unaffordable for first-time buyers.
Government data last week showed single-family homebuilding and permits for future home construction declining in January.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to an average 6.32% last week from 6.12% the week prior, according to data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac (OTC:FMCC). The second straight weekly increase reflected a spike in U.S. Treasury yields.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.