FHA Loosens Condo Approval Policies.

Says Miami News Herald story HERE. Reported changes from the story:

• Increase from 30 percent to 50 percent the number of units in a project that can be financed with FHA loans. FHA, however, will make exceptions, even allowing up to 100 percent, when buildings meet an additional set of more stringent criteria.

• Require at least 50 percent of units in a complex to be owner-occupied or sold to owners who plan to live in the units. Bank-owned units may be disqualified from the percentage calculation.

• Reduce a pre sale requirement in new construction to 30 percent, compared with 70 percent for loans from conventional lenders.

Two recent FHA Mortgagee Letters on condos provide details:

• Condo Approval Policy
• Temporary Guidance for Condo Policy

Note: Permanent link in right pane ("FHA Mortgagee Letters" ) provides link to ALL FHA Mortgagee Letters.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog

FY 2010 OCAF's Released Tomorrow, at 3.2% Oregon's OCAF is Below National Avg of 4.7%

Tomorrow's Federal Register will include the FY 2010 HUD OCAF's (Operating Cost Adjustment Factors) used to adjust rents in many project based Section 8 programs.

• The national average OCAF adjustment factor for FY 2010 is 4.7%;
• for Oregon it is 3.2%;
• for Washington, 3.9%:
• for Idaho, 4.5%.

If you look carefully at the chart you will see that Oregon's 5 year and 10 average adjustments are at or above the national average for those periods.

I have updated the multiyear OCAF state comparison table I previously constructed HERE-it shows ALL the operating cost adjustments by state since FY 1999.

[I will do an updated post tomorrow once the Federal Register publication actually occurs].

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Local Spotlight from Sunlight Foundation Highlights Our Excel Recovery Jobs Database.

File under "shameless promotion".

Sunlight foundation Local Spotlight blog post is HERE.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Oregon FHA Purchase and Refi Summary, CY 2009 Through September.

The tables below provide a quick summary of FHA loan volume in Oregon for home purchases and refis for calendar year 2009 through September.

Notes:

• Loan counts do NOT include HECM loans.
• Refinance volume in September was the lowest of the year.
• Home purchase volume in September was the highest of the year.
• Avg loan amounts for CY YTD purchase loans was $206,311 and for refinance loans, $216,641.
  

	Purchase	Refi	Purchase+Refi
CY YTD Total	7,869	8,916	16,785
Jan	601	960	1,561
Feb	408	984	1,392
March	603	978	1,581
April	717	1,017	1,734
May	682	1,059	1,741
June	1,073	1,256	2,329
July	1,212	1,041	2,253
Aug	1,255	858	2,113
Sept	1,318	763	2,081

	Purchase	Refi	Purchase+Refi
CYTD Total	$ 1,623,459,605	$ 1,931,573,733	$ 3,555,033,338
Jan	$ 122,571,062	$ 205,787,971	$ 328,359,033
Feb	$ 81,883,096	$ 214,761,841	$ 296,644,937
March	$ 124,078,572	$ 213,302,066	$ 337,380,638
April	$ 145,355,732	$ 221,505,730	$ 366,861,462
May	$ 139,038,236	$ 235,991,059	$ 375,029,295
June	$ 223,479,771	$ 277,044,862	$ 500,524,633
July	$ 253,918,011	$ 220,796,588	$ 474,714,599
Aug	$ 261,377,878	$ 180,845,911	$ 442,223,789
Sept	$ 271,757,247	$ 161,537,705	$ 433,294,952

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Off Topic: Finland Tops World Prosperity Index.

Props to my peeps; US ranks 9th.

Index background is HERE; full report is HERE. American Enterprise Institute hosted a forum this week that includes presentation, video, and audio links within web page HERE.

Index measurements include:

• Economic Fundamentals – a growing, sound economy that provides opportunities for wealth creation
• Entrepreneurship and Innovation – an environment friendly to new enterprises and the commercialisation of new ideas
• Democratic Institutions – transparent and accountable governing institutions that promote economic growth
• Education – an accessible, high-quality educational system that fosters human development
• Health – the physical well being of the populace
• Safety and Security – a safe environment in which people can pursue opportunity
• Governance – an honest and effective government that preserves order and encourages productive citizenship
• Personal Freedom – the degree to which individuals can choose the course of their lives
• Social Capital – trustworthiness in relationships and strong communities

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

New CRS Report: Income of Americans Aged 65 and Older, 1968 to 2008.

Lots of details about sources and amounts of income for the elderly in the new CRS report HERE.

My money take away:

The poverty rate among people aged 65 and older fell from 25.0% in 1968 to 9.7% in 2008.

Originally created and posted by the Oregon Housing Blog.

HFA Bond Program Reportedly Over Subscribed; Deadline for Release Of Requested Amounts Apparently Missed.

Bond Buyer story via National Mortgage News is HERE.

Prior guidance had been that HFA participation amounts would be released this week; as of Saturday 11 AM Eastern time those amounts are no where to be seen on Treasury or NCSHA websites. If Treasury missed their own stated date for release of requested amount and if future stories confirm that requested amounts were cut back, this could erode the credibility of the program.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.