U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development
04/22/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/22/2026 15:40
Wednesday, April 22, 2026Homebuying Advances into New Era of Credit Score Competition
Washington, DC - Today the U.S. government is ushering in a new era of competition in our nation's mortgage market.
In a joint announcement, Secretary Scott Turner and FHFA Director William J. Pulte announced that the Federal Housing Administration and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are implementing their first new credit score models for mortgages in decades. This historic move is intended to lower costs for the American people after years of rising prices under the status quo credit score system.
Secretary Scott Turner announced today that the Federal Housing Administration will permit the use of VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T as eligible credit scoring models for FHA-insured mortgage underwriting. "By embracing additional predictive credit scoring models, we are taking a meaningful step toward expanding access to homeownership - particularly for creditworthy borrowers who may have been overlooked under older systems," said Secretary Scott Turner. "This exciting announcement is in service to President Trump's promise to restore the American Dream of homeownership."
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are also moving forward with VantageScore 4.0 and FICO Score 10T, updating their selling guides with the new scores and immediately accepting Vantage-scored loans from approved lenders. This step advances the full implementation of the Credit Score Competition Act of 2018 as signed by President Trump, bringing greater choice and flexibility to borrowers.
"Thanks to President Trump's leadership, we are driving down costs across the homebuying process," said Director Pulte. "We are modernizing credit scoring with more predictive models, helping millions of Americans who responsibly pay rent qualify for mortgages. That's fair, it's commonsense, and it's finally delivering the benefits of competition to homebuyers nationwide."
Fannie Mae Press Release
Freddie Mac Press Release
Follow @SecretaryTurner on X, FB, and Instagram.
U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development published this content on April 22, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on April 22, 2026 at 21:40 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]