Mortgage borrowers with good credit may face higher costs under a new scheme from federal mortgage associations Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The firms have released a new Loan–Level Price Adjustment (LLPA) Matrix for loans sold to them after May 1, 2023. Under the new matrix, borrowers with high credit scores will face higher mortgage fees than before and those with lower credit scores will face lower fees.
“It’s unprecedented,” David Stevens, a former federal housing commissioner and former CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, told the New York Post. “My email is full from mortgage companies and CEOs [telling] me how unbelievably shocked they are by this move.”
The fee increase is unlikely to lead to significantly higher monthly mortgage payments for most borrowers. For instance, someone with a $400,000 loan and a 6 percent mortgage rate may wind up paying about $40 more per month, according to Stevens’ calculations.
But an extra $40 per month means an extra $480 per year. And over the whole course of mortgage repayment, a homeowner could wind up paying thousands of dollars more due to the fee shift.
Regardless of what the shift means in terms of actual costs, it seems unfair that borrowers with extremely good credit are effectively being penalized while borrowers with lower credit scores are being rewarded.
“This was a blatant and significant cut of fees for their highest-risk borrowers and a clear increase in much better credit quality buyers – which just clarified to the world that this move was a pretty significant cross-subsidy pricing change,” Stevens said.
“Overall, lower-credit buyers will still pay more in LLPA fees than high-credit buyers – but the latest changes will close the gap,” notes the Post:
Under the new rules, high-credit buyers with scores ranging from 680 to above 780 will see a spike in their mortgage costs – with applicants who place 15% to 20% down payment experiencing the biggest increase in fees….
LLPAs are upfront fees based on factors such as a borrower’s credit score and the size of their down payment. The fees are typically converted into percentage points that alter the buyer’s mortgage rate.
Under the revised LLPA pricing structure, a home buyer with a 740 FICO credit score and a 15% to 20% down payment will face a 1% surcharge – an increase of 0.750% compared to the old fee of just 0.250%….
Meanwhile, buyers with credit scores of 679 or lower will have their fees slashed, resulting in more favorable mortgage rates. For example, a buyer with a 620 FICO credit score with a down payment of 5% or less gets a 1.75% fee discount – a decrease from the old fee rate of 3.50% for that bracket.
