It’s true, lenders are more upbeat about the direction of the housing recovery
The housing recovery continues: more than 70% of lenders surveyed said home prices are “rising at a sustainable pace,” according to a quarterly survey of U.S. bank professional conducted by FICO. Nearly 60 percent of the bankers surveyed say they expect the supply of credit for residential mortgages to meet demand over the next six months.
What’s more, 39 percent say they expect mortgage delinquencies to fall in the next six months, while 45 percent of those surveyed say they expect delinquencies to remain flat. According to FICO, that represents the most optimistic data on delinquencies in the 12 quarters since the survey began.
“The latest survey results, combined with data that indicates the real estate market is improving in many regions, paint a positive picture for a sector of the economy that has been slow to join the recovery,” says Andrew Jennings about the housing recovery, chief analytics officer at FICO and head of FICO Labs. “Mortgage lenders have been understandably guarded over the past five years. The improvement in their sentiment should be welcome news, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see lenders cautiously expanding their mortgage and home-equity lending businesses.”
Source: FICO