Ginnie Mae lenders securitized $35.3 billon of government guaranteed residential mortgages in January, a 5% increase from the prior month, according to new figures released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
However, compared to the same month a year ago, Ginnie Mae issuance was down about 8%.
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans continue to be the mortgage of choice for first time home buyers because of the low downpayment requirements.
GNMAs are backed by FHA, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Rural Housing Services mortgages.
For all of 2010 mortgage lenders securitized $400 billion of GNMAs, compared to $454 billion in 2009.
