The federal government’s recent lowering of mortgage-insurance premium requirements on low-downpayment home loans saves typical first-time Connecticut homebuyer about $800 a year, a state housing-finance official says.
On Jan. 26, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the government’s homeownership promoter, slashed a half-percentage point from the premium requirements on loans it insures with a downpayment under 20 percent, to 0.85 percent from 1.35 percent.
The bulk of loans issued through the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) bear FHA guarantees, Norbert Deslauriers, CHFA interim executive vice president, said Thursday.
Rates on CHFA mortgages available from 110 participating Connecticut lenders as of Thursday ranged from 2.75 percent to 3.125 percent.
“The typical CHFA borrower takes out a $160,000 mortgage, so the reduced premium will mean about an $800 savings each and every year,” Deslauriers said.
“It’s likely,’’ he said, “that some of that savings will make its way back into the economy as new homebuyers purchase furniture, appliances, lawn mowers, swing sets and all those items people need when they buy a home. So this is also good news for the economy.”
