Tag Archives: Credit Score

While rising home prices have lifted many underwater homeowners to positions of positive equity, the real estate information and analytics provider DataQuick warns tight credit will still preclude many traditional buyers from the market. Instead, investors will continue to carry an outsized portion of the purchase market for the foreseeable future, according to DataQuick.

Existing-home sales translate to an annual rate of 5.12 million at the October sales pace, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). October's sales volume was down 3.2 percent from September and marked the second consecutive month of declining transactions. NAR blames low inventory, diminished buying power from rising prices and interest rates, and a restrictive credit environment for the drop in sales.

It's no secret underwriting standards have tightened in recent years, and while many decry the heightened standards for making homeownership less accessible to some Americans, an economist with CoreLogic points out in a report released Wednesday that heightened standards are, without question, impacting delinquencies for the better, with 2013 vintage loans carrying a serious delinquency rate of just six basis points.

Borrowers' financial health deteriorated in the third quarter after seeing marked improvement in the previous three-month period, according to recent findings released by the online exchange LendingTree. The company's measurement of borrower health is based on average loan-to-value (LTV) ratios and average credit scores, and with rising home prices, potential borrowers faced more financial pressure.

As of November 1st, Fannie Mae is no longer purchasing loans with loan-to-value ratios above 95 percent, which means borrowers must put up a down payment of at least 5 percent, as opposed to the 3 percent previously required. Industry experts with the Urban Institute's Housing Finance Policy Center argue this move is arbitrary and likely to provide little benefit to the GSE or to taxpayers.

CoreLogic Credco's Instant Merge credit reports are now available on D H Mortgagebot's EnterpriseLOS platform, CoreLogic announced. Instant Merge provides creditors with information such as demographic specifics and detailed creditor contact info.

Bank of America exhibited healthy growth during the third quarter despite an expected weakening in its mortgage banking operations, according to the company's Q3 earnings report released Wednesday. BofA's third-quarter net income was $2.5 billion, a significant increase compared to $340 million reported for Q3 2012. Its consumer real estate services division, though, reported a net loss of $1 billion.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is putting on notice companies that furnish information to credit reporting firms, reminding them that they are responsible for investigating consumer disputes forwarded to them.

Equifax announced the availability of Equifax Dimensions, a new product created to deliver a more in-depth picture of past credit behavior to predict future trends. Users of the new solution can see up to two years' worth of detailed consumer credit activity, allowing them to identify consumer patterns such as a borrower's financial ""breaking point"" that will lead to default and which consumers are most likely to open new accounts.

While 22 percent of Americans admitted they have never checked their credit report, nearly a quarter said they have encountered issues with their credit report, with incorrect or outdated negative marks leading as the main type of problem, according to a recent FindLaw. Overall, 23 percent of Americans said they have had a problem with their credit report, and 10 percent of problems were related to incorrect or outdated information about their credit history, such as delinquency payments, payment history, collection actions, court judgments, and bankruptcies.