Did the ranges change at some point?

[Anonymous]

When I bought my first house 20 years ago I was struggling to hit 680 in order to get a good deal.  I talked about it with friends at the time and only one actually had a 700, and as good as he was with his credit management, he made it to 740.

I poked around a lot of boards at that point and it seemed like 700 was the magic number that opened up the best deals for mortgages.  Now it seems like 750 is the magic number.

Did the ranges change?  Did the banks change?  Or did I just get older and now I'm looking at things differently?

[Anonymous]

I'm not expert but I have read that 

#1 - the average American FICO score has increased over the years and is currently at an all time high.  average score is about 704 I believe

#2 - yes the world has changed since the recession and I believe underwriting standards have changed so maybe major banks are looking for higher scores for better rates....they also have more oversight and regulation I believe, so they probably look for reasons to charge higher rates and poorer terms so they raised the bar

#3 I also read about geographical trends in consumer credit scores.  Someone could be in an area where the average score is lower than 700 and another person could live in an area where the average score is higher than 700.  

And it's possible that banks especially local credit unions adjust their standards based on demo/geo factors

again i'm not expert, just spitting back what i've read

[RonM21]

It is of my opinion that generally, things always change, especially in a 20yr time frame. When it comes to finances, I think that ties into the credit scores as well as the market. Because everything changes globally in different markets, I believe that has a direct trickle down effect on what you are seeing.

[Trudy]

Disclaimer: No expert

Not sure if things changed as I was nowhere near obtaining the best rates when I first bought.  Didn't know squat and was just pleased I was approved. 

MyFICO seems to indicates a 760 is the optimal score for the best rates.  I just re-fi'd in June and was told the same by the lenders and was able to receive the best rate since my middle score was just above 760 at the time.  However, with a new account and AoYA dropping, my mortgage scores have taken a slight dip. 

I spent a lot of time in the Mortgage forum before refinancing and there seems to be a lot of LO in that forum that may be able to provide solid information.

This is a print screen from MyFICO account today.

[Anonymous]

I agree with Trudy.  Some of the LOs in the mortgage forum may have been doing this for a long time.  They will be able to describe what the score needed for best rates was in 2005 (housing boom) vs. 2010 (after the economic meltdown) vs. the last year or two. 

Would you like to have this thread moved to the mortgage forum?

Bear in mind too that there are two different issues in play.  There is a score needed for best rates on the mortgage itself, and a score needed for the best rate on PMI.  Last year I had heard that the two cutoffs were 740 for mortgage and 760 for PMI -- but perhaps it has changed.