Recent steps by federal regulators are making low down-payment loans, a feature of the housing market’s boom, more accessible. The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced that mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would start backing loans with down payments as low as 3 percent. In addition, three federal agencies approved a loosened set of mortgage-lending rules, removing a requirement for a 20-percent down payment for a class of high-quality loan known as a “qualified residential mortgage.”
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