A loan that was largely ignored in the booming real estate market has re-emerged as the workhorse in this one.

The Federal Housing Administration loan, which enables people to buy a house for 3.5% down, is a major catalyst in this home market. And people are flocking to it because, with interest rates in the 5% range and prices so low, their house payments can be less than rent.

Consider this: Someone buying a $150,000 house will have a monthly payment of about $1,000 - and that includes principal, interest, mortgage insurance and taxes, said Mike Gilmore of Royal Charter Mortgage in Fresno.

The loan must be used to live in the house, and many people apparently want to do that. In Fresno, Kern and Tulare counties, the number of FHA loans soared 109.57% in 2009 from 2008, according according to the federal department of Housing and Urban Development.

The increase was greatest - 165% - in Fresno County.

The loan represents 67% of Royal Charter's volume. Gilmore said the FHA program is particularly attractive to people who buy foreclosures because the 203K renovation loan allows people to finance repairs into it.