A survey released Monday by the Fed told us something we’ve known for a while (well, since the housing bust): Those with bad credit can’t get a mortgage.
Now, lets break that down by score and down payment:
Forty-three of the 52 banks surveyed said they weren’t as likely to give a mortgage to those with a FICO score of 620 and a down payment of 10% than they were in 2006. Even when the down payment was bumped up to 20%, 37 banks still gave it the thumbs down.
Even those with a better score still had it a bit rough. With a score of 680 and a down payment of 10%, 36 banks said they were less likely than in 2006 to make the loan. That group fared slightly better when the down payment was 20%, with only 15 banks saying they were less likely to make the loan — four more were even more likely to go through with the deal.
When the FICO score hit 720, the difference between now and then was decently minimal. With 10% down, 37 banks said they would be just as likely to make the loan now as they were in 2006, with 12 banks saying less likely and 3 saying more likely.
Those high scorers did even better when the down payment increased to 20%. Five banks said they were less likely, six said they were more likely and a whopping 41 banks said they were just as likely.
All of this very interestingly sticks to the results that the National Association of Realtors gathered last month. Though it would have been interesting to see the Fed’s results for those with credit scores of 740 and above, since NAR has them much more likely to get a mortgage than before.
Given that these new tightened standards are a follow up to U.S. home prices nose-diving by about one third, the banks getting picker have helped to affirm the finding from my blog on Friday that credit standards are loosening in everywhere except mortgages. Auto loans, credit cards, you name it.
Odds are, you probably can’t have a mortgage unless you’re sitting on a 720 FICO score.
