NFHA Commends HUD’s Reduction of FHA Annual Mortgage Insurance Premium

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

February 22, 2023 

Contact: Izzy Woodruff, iwoodruff@nationalfairhousing.org

Washington, D.C. — Nikitra Bailey, Executive Vice President of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), issued the following statement following an announcement by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that it will reduce the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)’s annual mortgage insurance premium (MIP).

“In October 2022, NFHA and our partners wrote a letter to HUD, FHA, and the National Economic Council urging the Biden-Harris Administration to reduce the annual Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) for borrowers with FHA-insured loans. We are pleased that our request was put into action. Lowering the MIP will help make it possible for more mortgage-ready Black, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native communities to afford and access homeownership, the primary wealth-building tool for American families. 

“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen the dream of homeownership slip further and further away from millions of everyday people, particularly people of color who have already been locked out of homeownership opportunities due to centuries of unfair race-based policies and practices perpetuated by the federal government, private sector, and others. Today’s action creates a necessary pathway to helping some of the pandemic’s hardest-hit families reach their American Dreams of owning a home.

“At a time when rapidly rising rents are making it nearly impossible to save for a downpayment and sky-high home prices and higher interest rates are creating yet another hurdle on the journey to homeownership, we welcome this reduction in the FHA’s MIP. Not only will this decrease place homeownership in range for more everyday individuals, it will help spur economic growth in communities throughout the country.

“We look forward to continuing to work with HUD, FHA, and the rest of the Biden-Harris Administration to adopt more policies that help advance housing equity and build strong, healthy, thriving communities.”

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The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) is the country’s only national civil rights organization dedicated solely to eliminating all forms of housing and lending discrimination and ensuring equal opportunities for all people. As the trade association for over 170 fair housing and justice-centered organizations and individuals throughout the U.S. and its territories, NFHA works to dismantle longstanding barriers to equity and build diverse, inclusive, well-resourced communities.