Study shows rent data could help millions qualify for mortgages

🌞 Friday! Congrats on getting another week in the books. Today’s newsletter is 647 words, a 2.5-minute read. Let’s dive in…

1. Study shows rent data could help millions qualify for mortgages

A VantageScore analysis of more than 600,000 renters indicates that millions could qualify for a mortgage if their on-time rent payments were included in credit files.

The study found that adding verified rental data to the VantageScore 4.0 model improved its predictive accuracy and lifted many renters above the 620 threshold used by federal mortgage backers.

Consumers with thin or inactive credit histories saw the sharpest gains, with scores rising by as much as 67 points once rental tradelines were incorporated. Nearly all previously credit-invisible renters in the sample reached a score of at least 620, and their average score landed at 654.

2. Fannie Mae removes minimum credit score requirements from DU

Fannie Mae’s November 2025 Selling Guide removes the 620 minimum credit score for Desktop Underwriter on Nov. 16, shifting eligibility to DU’s internal risk analysis.

The overhaul opens the door for borrowers with thin or no credit files and pushes underwriting toward alternative data inputs rather than fixed score thresholds.

• Other changes arriving Nov. 15 expand Day 1 Certainty to undisclosed non-mortgage liabilities, broaden the age-of-credit-document exception for single-closing construction loans, and add DU prompts for nontraditional credit and homebuyer education when borrowers have no traditional credit.

A spokesperson for Fannie Mae’s regulator, the FHFA, told HousingWire in a statement that “nothing in Fannie and Freddie’s underwriting standards have changed. As we move toward competition and beyond accepting only one type of credit score model, language in the guide needs to be tweaked.”

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3. More nuggets

💸 Investors are paying up to 35% above the median sales price, adding pressure for everyday homebuyers. (MorningStar)

📰 Mortgage industry backs LLPA changes but is divided over priorities. (HW)

💼 A new loan covers VA closing costs. (NMP)

⚠️ The $7.8 billion problem: Why the mortgage industry is still plagued with file mistakes. (MPA)

🤖 AI helps UWM seize the day, make the most loans in 4 years in Q3. (inman)

4. Nation’s largest mortgage lenders, service providers sued over allegations of price-fixing

A class-action complaint accusing Optimal Blue and 26 major U.S. mortgage lenders of running a nationwide scheme to inflate home-loan rates and fees was filed Oct. 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

The suit alleges the companies have, since at least 2019, operated a data-sharing arrangement that allowed them to coordinate pricing in the residential mortgage market. Optimal Blue provides pricing software embedded in loan-origination systems widely used across the industry.

The plaintiffs; Angel D. Mendez, Seth Ogilvie, Nancy Donacki-Thompson and Ori Wasserburg, say they paid higher costs on their mortgages as a result of the alleged collusion. They are seeking unspecified damages and a permanent injunction to halt what they describe as a price-fixing network that may have affected millions of borrowers.

☀️ You’re all caught up. See you on Monday!

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