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IMF NEWS:Finally, Signs of Credit Loosening in the GSE Market

By John Bancroft [e-mail]

Sometimes it seems there is more talk of lenders loosening their credit standards than actual data supporting such a shift, but a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities data unearthed some positive signs.

In the fourth quarter of 2015, 14.4 percent of purchase mortgages securitized by the two government-sponsored enterprises had credit scores ranging from 620 to 699. Back at the beginning of 2014, only 12.9 percent of GSE purchase business fell in that category.

There have been periods when this low-score category accounted for a bigger share of Fannie/Freddie business, such as the 14.7 percent share back in the first quarter of 2015. But the market shifted toward higher scores as purchase-mortgage activity ramped up in the second quarter, with the low-score category providing just 13.0 percent (by dollar volume) of purchase mortgages during the second quarter.

Lenders may be digging a little deeper to boost their refinance market as well.