Transunion

While digital expansion of the mortgage application process increases convenience, it inherently comes with the downside of heightened fraud risk.

Better consumer credit quality helped push the serious mortgage delinquency rate to its lowest level since the Great Recession, but originations remain low due to tighter underwriting standards and eroding homebuyer affordability, according to TransUnion.

Senators at a hearing Thursday discussed a bill establishing an online portal for consumers to monitor their credit reports free of cost.

While consumer debt is growing overall, borrowers are exhibiting more caution when it comes to mortgage loans, according to LendingTree.

The mortgage market continued to perform well in the first quarter as delinquencies declined annually for the 19th straight quarter, according to TransUnion.

Some speculate that the banks who do business with credit reporting agencies may be looking for alternatives after mounting concerns about their ability to keep information private. But breaking up is hard to do.

Some fear that the removal of such data from individual credit reports could lead lenders to believe a consumer is a better bet than they really are.

Mortgage borrowers 60 days or more late with their payments declined both quarter-to-quarter and year-over-year, as recession-era defaults work their way out of the system.

As digital mortgage technology helps consumers take a more hands-on approach to the mortgage process, lenders are stepping up their adoption of automation and machine learning through artificial intelligence capabilities.

The long-running slide in mortgage payments 60 or more days past due will continue next year, and perhaps even longer as borrowers benefit from favorable economic conditions.