First-Time Homebuyers Making a Comeback

"First-time homebuyers are finally jumping into the U.S. property market," according to an article by Prashant Gopal and Heather Perlberg.

The evidence for the claim is provided by data showing a quickly growing amount of loans with low down payments insured by the Federal Housing Administration.

Originations of FHA-backed mortgages, used predominately by first-time buyers, were up 54 percent in September from a year earlier, according to the most recent data from CoreLogic Inc. By December, the FHA insured 22 percent of all loan originations, up from 17 percent a year earlier, according to data compiled by Ellie Mae Inc.

The growth in FHA-backed mortgages is credited to a federal policy enacted in January 2015 that reduced mortgage-insurance premiums for FHA loans. That change " lowered the cost of getting a home loan and brought in at least 75,000 new borrowers with credit scores of less than 680, according to Gopal and Perlberg.