Lenders are easing loan standards across all types of mortgage products, according to Fannie Mae's latest survey of mortgage lenders.
The gap between lenders who said they're easing standards, compared to lenders who said they're tightening standards, rose to 20 percentage points in the third quarter, compared to 18 percentage points in the second quarter, according to Fannie Mae's
Their responses applied to both GSE-eligible loans and non-GSE-eligible loans.
"Lenders may be becoming more comfortable with the GSEs' updated guidelines intended to provide them greater certainty regarding representations and warranties,"
"Lenders also may be getting more familiar with the regulatory and compliance environment [and they] may be removing credit overlays."
In other findings from the survey, senior executives with mortgage lenders are more optimistic about both the economy and home prices than consumers. However, senior mortgage executives are less optimistic than consumers about the ease of a getting a mortgage today.
