Tuesday, July 22, 2008

VA Mortgage Origination Data Shows No Remarkable Changes

The Veterans Administration (VA) home loan guaranty program was established in 1944 to aid veterans returning home from war. While roughly 55 million persons are eligible for VA mortgages, very few eligible veterans choose the mortgage that allows no down payment and provides the investor a guaranty on a sizable proportion of the mortgage. Even though VA mortgage borrowers are not required to purchase mortgage insurance, loan guaranty fees which vary with the down payment and the number of times used, are collected at mortgage close and rolled into the mortgage amount. Since conventional mortgages have been more difficult to obtain, we would expect an increase in the use of VA mortgages. The past few months show only a small increase (see chart) in new VA mortgage originations. Are we as a nation doing what is necessary to help our veterans with their residential finance needs?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm very curous where you're getting these numbers. -AH