According to senior loan officers across the country who were surveyed by the Federal Reserve, the standards used to help lenders determine who qualifies for mortgages are loosening. This is especially true when it comes to residential loans, but just about everyone who is interested in buying a home can benefit in some way.

Slow but Steady Changes

When it comes to standard GSE-eligible residential mortgages – which are the most common credit mortgages – 88.9% of lenders reported that there were no real changes in credit requirements over the last three months. However, 11.1% of lenders said that credit requirements have eased somewhat, allowing them to provide loans to people who may not have qualified only a couple of months previously. Government residential mortgage credit standards remained relatively the same, as did QM jumbo loans. In fact, some providers of jumbo loans (1.6% of banks) reported some tightening of credit guidelines. read more