In a move expected to bring 250,000 first-time homebuyers into the market, FHA will reduce annual Columbia SC mortgage insurance premiums by half a percentage point, to 0.85 percent. The move is expected to make homeownership more affordable for more than 2 million homeowners in the next three years.

After raising Columbia SC mortgage insurance premiums six times during the housing bust, the Obama administration is reversing course and rolling back mortgage insurance premiums charged by the Federal Housing Administration by enough to save homeowners an average of $900 a year.

Upfront Columbia SC Mortgage Insurance Premiums Will Remain Unchanged

FHA's upfront premiums of 1.75 percent will remain unchanged. So a first-time homebuyer taking out a $180,000 mortgage will pay $3,150 upfront and $1,530 a year in premiums for access to FHA mortgage programs that let them purchase a home with as little as 3.5 percent down. Today, the same homeowner pays $2,430 a year in annual premiums.

The National Association of Realtors claims that FHA premium increases priced nearly 400,000 borrowers out of the housing market in 2013, and 234,000 in 2014. In the past four years, NAR said, the share of first-time buyers using FHA-backed loans shrank from 56 percent to 39 percent.

The hope is for the premium rollback to provide greater access to homeownership for entry-level and underrepresented buyers.

We'll keep you informed on this reduction of Columbia SC mortgage insurance rates as it moves forward. In the meantime, you can get more information about Columbia SC mortgage insurance and mortgages in our section on Columbia SC Mortgage Info to your right under Columbia SC Real Estate Categories.

We post daily to Twitter and Facebook and would love to have you find and follow us there.