Mortgage Rates Hit 50-Year Low What Homebuyers Need to Know About the New Rules of Getting a Mortgage

McLean, VA – With mortgage rates at 50-year lows and home prices affordable, today’s market presents a rare buying opportunity for working families with stable incomes and good credit (please see image #3). But too many qualified borrowers may be sitting on the sidelines because of misinformation about the new rules of the road for getting a mortgage.

“A qualified borrower should have a stable income, good credit history, a common sense down payment – generally about five percent — and documentation,” says Tricia McClung, vice president, Single Family Offerings Management, Freddie Mac. “Lenders today will want documentation verifying income, like W-2 forms and tax returns, employment, credit history and assets, such as bank statements, to verify savings,” she explains.

McClung urges people shopping to buy a home to visit a reputable lender to see if they can be pre-approved for a conforming, conventional mortgage. A mortgage pre-qualification letter can confirm that a potential homebuyer is qualified for a mortgage and how much they can expect to borrow. This can make them stronger home shoppers since sellers won’t have to worry about whether they can qualify for a mortgage.

“In this market, anyone still unsure about the new rules of the road owe it to themselves to find a reputable lender and ask for a pre-qualification letter, ” McClung says. “Think of a pre-qualification letter almost like a driver’s permit for the new rules of the homebuying road.”

For more information on the new rules of the road, visit www.FreddieMac.com/buying.

Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey surveys lenders each week on the rates and points for their most popular 30- and 15-year fixed-rate, 5/1 hybrid and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages. Freddie Mac has conducted this survey since April 1971. For more information, visit https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/.

Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation’s residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and more than five million renters.

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