Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey - September 2015

Fannie Mae’s third quarter 2015 Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey^™ reveals that more lenders report easing of mortgage lending standards across all loan types. Conducted in August 2015, the survey asked senior mortgage executives whether their lending organization’s credit standards have eased, tightened, or remained essentially unchanged for GSE eligible, non-GSE eligible, and government loans during the prior three months. Notably, the gap between lenders reporting easing as opposed to tightening over the prior three months jumped to 20 percentage points and 18 percentage points for GSE eligible and non-GSE eligible loans, respectively—reaching new survey highs of "net easing." In addition, the share of lenders who expect their organizations to ease credit standards over the next three months ticked up this quarter for both GSE eligible and non-GSE eligible loans.

"For the first time in seven quarters, we see a pronounced increase in the share of lenders, particularly medium- and larger-sized lenders, reporting on net an easing of credit standards in both the GSE eligible and non-GSE eligible loan categories. This is a significant result in light of public discourse on credit availability and standards," said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. "Our survey responses appear to reflect multiple factors at play. 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. Finally, lenders may be removing credit overlays. Overall, we expect that lenders' tendency toward easing credit standards, together with relatively low mortgage rates and a strengthening labor market, will continue to support the housing market expansion."

On this webpage you will find a news release with highlights from the survey results, the Q3 2015 data summary highlighting key attitudinal indicators, a detailed research report, the questionnaire used for the Q3 2015 survey, and FAQs providing additional information about the survey.

Downloads and Related Links
Q3 2015 News Release
Q3 2015 Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey Data Summary (PDF)
Q3 2015 Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey Detailed Research Report