WASHINGTON—U.S. lawmakers moved Thursday to increase the maximum size of loans that can be guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration.

Congress passed a broad spending bill that included a provision to restore to $729,750 the maximum size of mortgage that can be backed by the FHA, giving some borrowers the option of putting less money down to obtain a mortgage in expensive cities.

FHA-backed loans currently account for a third of new mortgages for home purchases and can be made with down payments of as little as 3.5%, compared with the 20% industry standard.

The bill goes next to President Barack Obama to be signed into law.

The loan limits fell to $625,500 on Oct. 1 in expensive markets like New York, San Francisco and Washington. They declined in around 250 counties for loans guaranteed by mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and in around 600 counties for FHA-backed loans. In some cases, the FHA loan limits fell below those of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The housing lobby pushed for Congress to reinstate loan limits for Fannie, Freddie and FHA, citing concerns that any steps to raise borrowing costs might be too much for fragile housing markets to bear. Limits for Fannie and Freddie loans were not restored.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D., N.J.) said that restoring the loan limits will benefit the housing market at a time when it is weak. Doing so, he said, “won’t cost taxpayers a dime” and will benefit the housing market in many other parts of the country besides those cities.

Courtesy of WSJ.com