You ready to hear some good news? It’s about time. This title caught my attention:
Housing Crisis to End in 2012 as Banks Loosen Credit Standards
Here are a few statements from this article:
Capital Economics expects the housing crisis to end this year, according to a report released Tuesday. One of the reasons: loosening credit.
The analytics firm notes the average credit score required to attain a mortgage loan is 700. While this is higher than scores required prior to the crisis, it is constant with requirements one year ago.
Additionally, a Fed Senior Loan Officer Survey found credit requirements in the fourth quarter were consistent with the past three quarters.
However, other market indicators point not just to a stabilization of mortgage lending standards, but also a loosening of credit availability.
Banks are now lending amounts up to 3.5 times borrower earnings. This is up from a low during the crisis of 3.2 times borrower earnings.
Banks are also loosening loan-to-value ratios (LTV), which Capital Economics denotes “the clearest sign yet of an improvement in mortgage credit conditions.”
In contrast to a low of 74 percent reached in mid-2010, banks are now lending at 82 percent LTV.
We’re not out of the woods and yet from what I’ve seen around the country with other realtors’ posts and market reports in ActiveRain, the face of the economy seems to be changing in incremental steps this year. It has a totally different feeling than last year at this time. I wrote about this earlier this year, it is a shining stone of hope, one to hold in your hand for good luck. (This doesn't mean you have to kiss the Blarney Stone, either!)
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