HUD

House Passes FHA Reform Bill in Landslide; Would Move Maximum Lending Limit to $730K 

The so-called Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2007, otherwise known as H.R. 1852, passed the House of Representatives today in a 348-72 vote — a landslide approval for FHA reform. Lawmakers also approved by voice vote an amendment offered by Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA), Gary Miller (R-CA) and Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) that would hike the FHA lending limit to $730,000 in high-cost metropolitan markets. The Bush administration had originally proposed increasing the FHA limit from $362,790 to the $417,000 conforming limit.