FHA Insures 194,000 Mortgages in June

[Update 1: Clarifies record month] The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured more than 194,000 mortgages in June, a new monthly record for endorsements in the administration’s 75-year history. The FHA insures servicers against default-related losses on qualifying mortgages. Nearly 89,000 of those insured mortgages in June were for new purchases. In addition, approximately 97,000 were for refinanced mortgages. The remaining more than 8,600 endorsements were for reverse mortgages. The record-setting month trumps the previous record from March 1994. However, in its outlook report for the latter half of June, the FHA noted single-family applications declined 11.5% from the first half of June. While the record activity may have cooled off in the second half of the month, it didn’t stop a 48% increase in endorsements compared to June 2008. The more than 194,000 insured mortgages have a combined value of $36.9bn. The majority of that — $34.3bn — were for forward mortgages, the remaining balance — $2.6bn —were for reverse mortgages. So far this year, the FHA has endorsed $256bn in mortgages. Insurance claims also continue to rise this year along with total endorsements. FHA predicts a nearly 10% increase in claims this fiscal year from last. Claims in June 2009 are up nearly 26% from June 2009. Write to Austin Kilgore.