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FHA MULTIFAMILY LOAN VOLUME SETS NEW RECORD

New guidance issued to help speed loan processing and keep pace with demand

WASHINGTON, DC – August 22, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Never in the history of the Federal Housing Administration has there been such demand for FHA-insured financing to build, rehabilitate or refinance multifamily apartment properties. FHA today announced that it has endorsed $10.5 billion in multifamily rental housing loans since last October, with another month-and-a-half remaining in the fiscal year.

So far this fiscal year, FHA has endorsed nearly 1,100 multifamily loans, more than seven times the number of loans the agency endorsed just three years ago. This historic loan activity also breaks the $10 billion threshold for only the second time in FHA’s history of endorsing multifamily loans. To help meet this growing demand, FHA today published updated underwriting and program guidance to help accelerate and coordinate the processing of new loan applications.

“FHA has never been more relevant in making sure the multifamily apartment marketplace continues to function even during these tough economic times,” said Carol Galante, FHA’s acting commissioner. “While we’re seeing record volume, we also recognize we have to accelerate the time it takes us to process these applications so we continue to meet this demand at the very time the market needs us the most.”

Meanwhile, FHA today published its revised Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP) Guide which is intended to cut the time required to approve loan applications and to assure consistent application of program requirements and credit standards across all HUD processing offices. FHA’s new MAP Guide delegates more underwriting responsibility to approved “MAP lenders” and includes all relevant guidance published by FHA since the MAP Guide was last updated in 2002. This new Guide consolidates all necessary underwriting and program requirements in one document and addresses concerns raised by those seeking updated standards.

Earlier this year, FHA issued new multifamily loan closing documents which had not been updated in 40 years. The loan documents required updating to ensure that they would be consistent with modern real estate and lending practices. The new MAP Guide is fully coordinated with the new loan closing documents.

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HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov  and espanol.hud.gov. You can also follow HUD on twitter @HUDnews or on facebook at www.facebook.com/HUD.

Contact:
Brian Sullivan
(202) 402-7527