According to the Federal Reserve's quarterly Senior Loan Officer Survey, it's getting easier to get approved for a home loan. Between July - September 2012, fewer than 6% of banks tightened mortgage guidelines -- the fourth straight quarter that's happened-- and roughly 10% of banks actually loosened them. For today's buyers and refinancing homeowners in Phoenix , softening guidelines hint at a quicker, simpler mortgage approval process; one which gives more U.S. homeowners better access to today's ultra-low mortgage rates. However, although banks are easing guidelines, it doesn't mean … [Read more...]
Mortgage Standards Stop Tightening; Lending Soon To Loosen?
As another signal of an improving U.S. economy, the nation's biggest banks have started to loosen mortgage lending guidelines. As reported by the Federal Reserve, last quarter, no "big banks" reported stricter mortgage standards as compared to the quarter prior and "modest fractions" of banks reported easier mortgage standards. The data comes from the Fed's quarterly Senior Loan Officer Survey, a questionnaire sent to 64 domestic banks and 23 U.S. branches of foreign banks. The survey is meant to gauge, among other things, direct demand for consumer loans and banks' willingness to meet … [Read more...]
