I’d read in other threads that 95% LTV was available in theory, but that PMI was hard to come by in declining markets.
FHA/VA might still have advantages for >95% LTV. I’ve seen annual PMI premiums running in the 1% range for high LTV loans, while FHA premiums seem to max out at 0.55%.
The upfront FHA mortgage insurance fee still seems a bit punitive … 1.75% for purchase loans … for a while I think it was as low as 1.25% for high FICO scores but I guess risk-based pricing was politically unpalatable. Or maybe FICO scores had nothing to do with actual risk 🙂
