More first-time buyers qualify – mainly from FHA loans
Is it easier today for homebuyers with a high debt ratio and subpar credit scores to qualify for a mortgage than it's been in years? And if so, what might that mean for first-time and repeat buyers who are struggling with credit and debt issues but still hope to buy a home? When the Federal Reserve polled senior bank executives last month on whether they've been loosening credit criteria for home-mortgage applicants, most bankers said, "no way, not us." They've kept their rules tight to avoid the problems the lending industry experienced in the housing bust of the last decade. Studies by the Urban Institute's Housing Finance Policy Center have estimated that lenders' historically strict underwriting standards have prevented millions of would-be buyers from becoming homeowners. Researchers said that between 2009 and 2014, 5.2 million mortgages were "missing" – they would have been made if lenders had relaxed their tough post-recession requi