‘The Most Important Chart for the U.S. Housing Market’

By Mike Dang July 26, 2013

Forget mortgage rates. Here’s the most important chart for the US housing market, via Barclays. (IMHO) pic.twitter.com/nevS6EFmvL

— Matt Phillips (@MatthewPhillips) July 26, 2013

Quartz’s Matt Phillips found a chart from Barclays Research showing the average FICO score for 30-year mortgages at around 750 (on a measure that ranges from 300 to 850), which is notably higher than it was in our pre-Recession days when it was easier to get credit with average FICO scores.

Low interest rates have attracted new homebuyers, but low rates shouldn’t be a reason to buy. A pro-tip from our friends at Credit.com who spoke to broker Erika Rasmus:

“Don’t buy a house simply because you are afraid rates will go higher,” she offers. “Buy a house because you have a need, a desire, and can afford it. But don’t be scared into buying something you’re not ready for, or don’t truly love, because the media is screaming that you have to buy now or you’ll miss out on these low rates.”

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