FHA loan limit ceiling unchanged for 2011

The Federal Housing Administration released approved loan limits on mortgages it would insure in 2011, leaving the ceiling unchanged at $729,750. The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 and the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 raised the FHA loan-limit ceiling to help stabilize a shaky housing market. The national floor remains unchanged as well at $271,050. The limits apply to all mortgages originated between Jan. 1, 2011, and Sept. 30, 2011, or the fiscal year for the FHA. With the mortgage insurance industry still in recovery mode, the FHA has seen its share of the market swell. In 2010, the FHA insured $319 billion in single-family mortgages, 40% of all purchase mortgages in 2010. FHA Commissioner David Stevens and  Chief Risk Officer Bob Ryan sat down with HousingWire for the December cover story to discuss how they plan on guiding the reserve fund and the industry back to health. Some areas of Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Virgin Islands receive special exceptions to account for higher costs of construction. The FHA set the ceiling in these areas at $1,094,625 for 2011. The FHA kept its loan limit unchanged for the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program, or reverse mortgages. It remained at $625,500 even in special exception areas. Write to Jon Prior.