Skip to content
Subscriber Only
Markets

Mortgage Lenders Tighten Screws on U.S. Credit in Echo of 2008

  • Loan underwriting standards are toughest they’ve been in years
  • Refinance activity plummets despite record-low borrowing rates
New homes stand in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.

New homes stand in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.

Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg
By

Mortgage rates are at record lows, but borrowers hoping to take advantage are running into the toughest loan-approval standards in years.

Over the past month, lenders have put in place higher credit-score and down payment requirements, and in some cases stopped issuing certain types of loans altogether, in effect shutting down a large swath of the mortgage market.