New programs that back mortgages with down payments as low as 3 percent are “just as safe” as a loan with a 10 percent down payment, Melvin Watt, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, assured lawmakers Tuesday.
When FHFA, the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, announced at the end of last year that first-time buyers would be able to qualify for loans with down payments as low as 3 percent, some expressed fears that the move could stir a wave of future defaults.
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