Average FICO Score at New High

Sep 24, 2018

The frequency of defects, fraudulence and misrepresentation in the information submitted in mortgage loan applications during May decreased by 2.4 percent compared with April

FICO’s average national credit score reached 704, a new peak.

According to a CNBC report, average credit scores reached a low of 686 during last decade’s housing crisis. FICO rates scores over 700 as “solidly good” and attributed the new record-setting score to changes in public record standards that erased all civil judgments and tax liens from credit reports.

However, Ethan Dornhelm, vice president for scores and analytics at FICO, warned that there is a downside to the increasing credit scores: a rising level of credit card balances and delinquencies. “As we've gotten further from the Great Recession, lenders are increasingly competing for new card volume, and part of that is loosening their underwriting criteria in order to be more competitive,” Dornhelm said.

About the author

Phil Hall

Link copied

Published

Sep 24, 2018

People On The Move

Kevin Dilday's Back At Guaranteed Rate Affinity

Takes on role as area sales manager for the Mid-Atlantic region; says company's culture, tech 'cannot be replicated'

Guaranteed Rate Affinity (GRA), a joint venture of Guaranteed Rate, Inc. and title/ settlement services firm Anywhere Integrated Services that is the primary mortgage lending partner of Coldwell Banker, announced the return of Kevin Dilday as he steps into the role of area s...

Analysis and Data

Lenders Prep For Recession As Deals Collapse And Buyers Stall

Leaky pipelines and buyer pullback define Q2 2025

A majority of U.S. loan officers are bracing for an economic downturn, according to HomeLight’s Q2 2025 Lender Insights & Predictions survey, which polled over 105 top lending institutions including The Loan Store, Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation, and Cross Coun...