National Association of Realtors® Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy Officer Shannon McGahn released the following statement in response to the July 8th announcement by Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte that, effective immediately, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow mortgage lenders to use VantageScore credit ratings—alongside or in place of traditional FICO scores—when assessing borrower creditworthiness:

"The National Association of Realtors® has long called for modernizing the credit scoring system to better reflect how today's consumers manage their finances. We applaud the announcement from FHFA Director Bill Pulte that the GSEs will soon begin accepting VantageScore in addition to other credit scoring models.

"This is a major step toward a more accurate and equitable mortgage underwriting process, one that considers timely rent, utility, and telecom payments as indicators of creditworthiness. These are real-world factors that show how people pay their bills and should count when determining if someone qualifies for a mortgage.

"Expanding the number of acceptable credit scoring models also fosters competition in credit reporting, which will lower costs, increase accuracy, and ultimately help more qualified Americans achieve homeownership."

Learn more about the FHFA change here.