Credit scores

An increase in millennials making home purchases is a call to the mortgage industry for a quicker, more efficient digital process.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is suspending its ongoing review of new credit scoring models and will instead move forward with creating a regulatory framework for providers of alternative credit scores to apply and be evaluated for use by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

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

The average millennial borrower credit score remained unchanged in May, but values by city painted very different pictures, according to Ellie Mae.

Higher interest rates on home mortgages drove the share of loans used to purchase houses rather than refinance to new heights in May.

As mortgage lenders continue seeking ways get more trustworthy consumers into the housing market, a majority of them are utilizing alternative credit as a means of assessing borrower risk, according to Experian.

As the mortgage industry moves farther past the housing crisis, access to credit remains tight, especially for first-time homebuyers.

Supporters say pending legislation would help consumers with little or no credit history. But the bill would instead roll back key consumer protections.

As the mortgage industry makes more strides with technology, the time it took millennials to close loans for new-home purchases shrank to its fastest time yet.

Purchase loans made to millennial mortgage borrowers rose month-over-month in February despite interest rates increasing at the start of the year, according to Ellie Mae.