"Today's FHA report is very encouraging and shows a marked upturn in the health of the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. The net worth of the fund increased more than $8 billion over the past year to $34.86 billion and its capital-reserve ratio jumped from an upwardly revised 2.18 percent to 2.76 percent, which is well above the congressionally mandated level of 2 percent.
"The report clearly shows that actions instituted by HUD Secretary Ben Carson and FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery to enhance the agency's capital reserves are showing positive results. It's also another indicator that FHA's financial picture continues to brighten and should provide momentum for the agency to consider a mortgage insurance premium reduction to help first-time home buyers and young families seeking to enter the housing market."