TransUnion’s study found that approximately 700,000 boomerang buyers might be able to re-enter the housing market in 2015. Over the next five years, TransUnion anticipates 2.2 million boomerang buyers could re-enter the market.

The study analyzed the overall U.S. credit-active population at the end of 2006 (the end of the mortgage Bubble), the end of 2009 (the end of the Burst) and in 2014 to determine consumers’ ability to re-enter the mortgage market.

“Based on our study findings, the Burst had a significant and dramatic impact on many consumers’ ability to re-enter the mortgage market after suffering through the downturn,” says Joe Mellman, vice president and head of TransUnion’s mortgage group. “It’s been over seven years since the beginning of the mortgage crisis; this is significant because many derogatory items, such as foreclosures and short sales can prevent consumers from qualifying for a new mortgage for a period of time. As consumers responsibly manage their credit and pass these milestones, we anticipate a tide of newly mortgage-eligible consumers entering the market.”

TransUnion analyzed every consumer it could track between 2006 and 2014, which came to 180 million consumers. During the mortgage Bubble in 2006, 43 percent of that population, or 78 million consumers, had a mortgage. 42 percent of the recovered consumers currently have a mortgage, while 58 percent of the recovered consumers have not yet re-entered the mortgage market.

“As boomerang buyers who experienced foreclosures or other negative impacts become eligible to re-enter the mortgage market, they may not immediately do so if they are not aware they are eligible again, or feel daunted by their prior experience,” Mellman says. “Lenders can help consumers ease this transition with credit education programs addressing consumer eligibility, and help them better understand their borrowing options.”

Credit Score Impact

The study also looked at how big of an impact the mortgage crisis had on consumer credit scores. Between the Bubble and the Burst, 39 million consumers dropped at least one credit score tier. As of 2014, 16 million of these consumers had recovered sufficiently to reach at least the risk tier they were in before the Burst.

Despite the significant impact on consumer credit scores, a marked improvement in scores has also been observed for certain credit score risk tiers. The study found that 7 million more consumers have moved into prime or better risk categories (VantageScore® 3.0 credit score of 661 and above) between the Burst in 2009 and the close of 2014. Additionally, 8 million consumers left the subprime risk tier (VantageScore® 3.0 credit score of 600 or below) to enter higher risk tiers during the same timeframe.

“An important question lenders face is when to re-engage with consumers who have been challenged managing credit in the past. Despite the negative impact of the mortgage crisis on many consumers, we’re seeing promising recovery as consumers shift to lower risk tiers,” says Ezra Becker, vice president of research and consulting in TransUnion’s financial services business unit. While some lenders may be hesitant to offer loans to these impacted consumers, our data show these consumers are becoming better credit risks. Our study puts a framework around the re-engagement question relative to the mortgage crisis, and that’s good news for both lenders and consumers alike.”

 

For more information about the study, visit www.transunioninsights.com/boomerang.

This Blog was posted on June 24, 2015 on The Real Estate Book Blog Spot.

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