A Major Change Is Coming to How Mortgage Borrowers Are Scored
A Major Change Is Coming to How Mortgage Borrowers Are Scored
FHFA says Fannie, Freddie will use one LLPA grid for FICO and VantageScore
Original reporting: HousingWire | Sarah Wolak | September 29, 2026
What the article says: The Federal Housing Finance Agency says Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will move to a single loan-level pricing grid covering mortgages evaluated with either Classic FICO or VantageScore 4.0. Earlier this month, FHFA expanded VantageScore 4.0 availability to all approved lenders for eligible loans. HousingWire
That seemingly technical change is significant enough that Fair Isaac—FICO's parent company—saw its shares plunge roughly 27% on September 29. Barron's
Our Take: This could ultimately be much more important to real estate investors than the stock-market reaction suggests. Mortgage qualification has long revolved around FICO. Greater competition between scoring systems could eventually change which borrowers qualify, how lenders evaluate credit histories and potentially some of the costs involved in originating mortgages.
It does not mean every investor with marginal credit suddenly qualifies for conventional financing. But it does mean investors should pay attention to which scoring model their lender is actually using instead of treating “my credit score” as one universal number.
Why This Matters to Investors: Financing availability determines buying power. Investors with thin credit files, unconventional credit histories or scores sitting near qualification/pricing thresholds may eventually receive different results depending on the lender and scoring model used.
How Investors Can Use This Information: When shopping financing, add a new question to the lender conversation: “Are you using Classic FICO or VantageScore 4.0 for this loan?” Investors who are close to a pricing or qualification threshold may increasingly benefit from comparing lenders—not just comparing rates
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