The Average American Still Can’t Get a Mortgage
Mortgage credit continues to tighten
The U.S. economy may be on the upswing, but your chances of securing a mortgage are not.
That’s according to data released Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which showed that the total volume of new mortgages actually declined in the second quarter of 2016 from a year earlier, by $39 billion.
Worse, the median credit score for a new mortgage remained quite high at 756. That’s well above the average credit score of 695, and means that the typical American, nearly eight years after the credit crunch and financial crisis, would still struggle to secure a mortgage.
This continued dynamic of tight credit is one likely reason that the American housing market remains hobbled even after prices in many markets have recovered to their pre-financial crisis peaks. With credit unavailable to all but the most qualified Americans, builders are wary of constructing homes aimed at lower income Americans…
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