The new minimum is 3 percent of the home's purchase price, down from the roughly 7 percent to 10 percent required under the old guidelines.

The change - good through at least September 1997 - was made specifically to boost home ownership in Hawaii, one of the states with the highest housing costs, said Gail Ota, a Honolulu official with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, FHA's parent organization. A similar change was made in Alaska.

"I think it's going to help a lot," Ota said, noting that down payments are significant obstacles for many would-be home buyers.

For a $200,000 home, the down payment under the old rules would have been roughly $13,500. Under the new guidelines, that payment falls to about $6,500 - a $7,000 savings.

Because the maximum limit for FHA loans on Oahu is $232,875, some industry officials believe the change will mostly benefit people shopping for condominiums and townhouses, which tend to be cheaper than houses.

"This will help," said Michael Macdonald, sales manager for Norwest Mortgage Inc. in Honolulu. "But I don't see it having a great effect."

Ota said the change is good through the agency's fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, 1997, unless the program is extended.

The FHA doesn't actually issue home loans but insures those made by financial institutions approved by the agency. The insurance allows the lenders to offer more liberal mortgage terms.

Ota said the new guidelines are part of President Clinton's effort to boost home ownership nationwide.

In Hawaii, where home ownership is much lower than the national average, the ownership rate is pegged at from 42 percent to just over 50 percent of households, depending on what sources are cited.