Consumer debt accelerated in December, driven by substantial growth in first mortgage and home equity lines of credit balances, a new industry report showed. Processing Content Total consumer debt in the United States reached $18.2 trillion by the end of last year, with $12.8 trillion attributed to first mortgages, according to Equifax’s fourth quarter consumer […]
Consumer debt accelerates in December, fueled by mortgages Read More »
Consumers are reengaging with the mortgage market, signaling a return to normality in 2026, TransUnion said. Processing Content Mortgage originations rose 6.5% year over year to 1.3 million in the third quarter of last year, but at the same time, the percentage of borrowers 60 or more days delinquent increased to 1.51% in the fourth
TransUnion sees mortgage market normalizing Read More »
Newly released documents from a Biden-era Freedom of Information Act filing by the Housing Policy Council are reigniting debate over credit score modernization at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, showing internal resistance to VantageScore 4.0 and skepticism about using a single credit report. Processing Content HPC highlights two takeaways from the redacted FOIA responses: that
Calls to rethink FHFA credit changes grow with FOIA reveals Read More »
In the mortgage industry, the initial reaction to President Donald Trump’s proposal to cap credit card interest rates at 10% has been concern that the policy could ultimately backfire on would-be homebuyers. The cap might seem beneficial on paper, but the long-term consequences, including reduced credit availability, could outweigh the benefits, mortgage professionals told HousingWire.
Mortgage pros warn credit card rate cap could backfire on homebuyers Read More »
Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors.Want unlimited access to top ideas and insights? Subscribe Now In a December 2025 letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, the Mortgage Bankers Association noted that “the current GSE requirement to obtain a report from each of the three credit
Why the tri-merge credit mandate is hard to defend Read More »
The Community Home Lenders of America has published a new list of reasons it views the effort it would take to transition to a single-bureau credit report option at the government-sponsored enterprises as outweighing benefits related to a potential reduction in expense. Processing Content “Costs will likely not be reduced — and could be increased,”
Lenders group flags risks in single-bureau credit plan Read More »
Higher costs for credit reporting in the mortgage industry are drawing renewed criticism from a federal housing official as the new year gets underway. Processing Content “I do not know what the credit bureaus are doing with their pricing. They are inviting a lot of scrutiny and that is only intensifying by the day,” Federal
Credit reporting prices draw more ire from FHFA’s Pulte Read More »
Consumer credit is broadly stable but historically low mortgage delinquencies could drift upward in the coming year, according to Transunion’s latest forecast. Processing Content The average mortgage delinquency rate that ended 2024 at 1.39% and is on track to reach 1.54% by the end of this year may be 1.65% by the time 2026 is
Mortgages delinquencies may inch up amid affordability pressures Read More »
The American Financial Services Association (AFSA), the nation’s oldest and largest consumer credit trade group, on Tuesday released its quarterly Consumer Credit Conditions Index. It found that AFSA members’ assessment of current conditions turned slightly negative in the third quarter of 2025. More respondents reported worsening business conditions than improving conditions, pushing the survey’s Net
Stress appears for consumer credit conditions Read More »
The transition toward updated credit score models at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, while less dramatic than a new stock offering, is a fundamental shift with widespread industry implications. These newer models, VantageScore and FICO 10T, are designed to replace the classic FICO tri-merge report currently central to many mortgage systems. Given that classic FICO
GSE credit reform: Rent data impact on pricing and LLPAs Read More »