FHA: Remove 3% minimum downpayment?

http://rockland.villagesoup.com/Business/story.cfm?storyID=91230

If this goes through there may be a small boost in below median priced houses for sale:

KNOX COUNTY (April 23): In testimony Thursday before a U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® stressed the need for the Federal Housing Administration to make changes that satisfy today’s consumer demands.

Among those changes: The FHA should provide borrowers with a safer alternative to riskier mortgage products that are on the market today, NAR says. The association also supports legislation that would boost loan limits, eliminate the 3 percent minimum cash down payment, and give the FHA flexibility to provide risk-based pricing.

“As subprime loans reset and real estate markets have cooled, a reformed FHA would be perfectly positioned to offer borrowers a safer mortgage alternative and help bring stability to local markets and local economies,” said Iona Harrison, a REALTOR® from Maryland who spoke on behalf of NAR.