FHA Originations Soar in First Half of 2008

"The government share of mortgage originations more than doubled numbers seen last year to 11.8 percent of all mortgages funded in the first half of 2008, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday; government share was just 5.7 percent in the second half of 2007, in comparison. Government loans include loans endorsed via the Rural Housing Service and Dept. of Veterans affairs, as well as loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration — and the jump is not surprisingly due to a surge in FHA loans during the first two quarters of this year."