In its quarterly survey of U.S. bank risk professionals, FICO found lenders more bullish on the housing recovery than at any point in three years, with 71 percent of respondents saying home prices are “rising at a sustainable pace” in the context of mortgage lending risk. In addition, 39 percent of respondents are expecting mortgage delinquencies to decrease over the next six months, while another 45 percent expect delinquencies to remain flat, and only 16 percent expect an increase. Those are the most optimistic figures recorded in the 12 quarters since the survey was launched.
The survey, conducted for FICO by the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA), also found that a majority of bankers (59 percent) expect the supply of credit for residential mortgages to meet demand over the next six months, and a slightly larger majority (60 percent) expect the supply of credit for mortgage refinancing to meet demand.