According to HousingWire, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have now made VantageScore 4.0 available to all of their approved single-family lenders. This is a significant expansion of what was previously a limited test program. The move gives lenders an alternative credit scoring option to the traditional Classic FICO model when originating conventional loans that will be sold to these government-sponsored enterprises. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte announced the change, framing it as part of a broader push to modernize credit scoring in the mortgage market.
The new policy takes effect immediately, and lenders can choose to use either Classic FICO or VantageScore 4.0 going forward. However, there's an important restriction: if a lender decides to use VantageScore 4.0 for a particular loan, they must apply that same scoring model to all borrowers on that mortgage. You cannot mix and match scoring models among co-borrowers on a single transaction. For loans that are manually underwritten, lenders must still stick with Classic FICO and follow existing minimum credit score requirements.
Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have updated their pricing grids to accommodate VantageScore 4.0 loans. According to the GSEs' guidance, when using VantageScore 4.0, pricing adjustments that apply to FICO scores will be applied at a spread that is twenty points higher on the VantageScore scale. The top lending tier for FICO at 780 and above corresponds to a VantageScore 4.0 tier of 800 and above.
One notable development is that Pulte expressed frustration with FICO, the traditional scoring provider, regarding the availability of its newer FICO 10T model. According to HousingWire's reporting, Pulte stated he has been in discussions with FICO about offering competitive pricing, but believes the company is prioritizing profit over market access. He characterized FICO's pricing approach as harmful to consumers. FICO did not respond to requests for comment.
HousingWire also reported that actual adoption of VantageScore 4.0 among lenders remains quite low despite the expanded availability. A recent analysis showed that only about five-point-six percent of loans were delivered using VantageScore 4.0, and nearly all of that volume came from just two originators: Rocket Mortgage and United Wholesale Mortgage. Most other approved lenders have not yet begun delivering meaningful volumes of VantageScore 4.0 loans. Industry observers believe lenders are still viewing this as a way to potentially expand their market reach rather than as a cost-cutting measure.
What I'm seeing locally here in the Bay Area and across the East Bay is that most borrowers and real estate professionals still aren't encountering VantageScore 4.0 in their day-to-day transactions. The vast majority of lenders we work with are continuing to pull FICO scores as the standard. That said, having this option on the table from the GSEs does create more flexibility down the line, and as adoption grows, it could eventually offer some borrowers pathways to financing that might not have been available under FICO alone. For now though, I'd expect Classic FICO to remain the dominant scoring model in our market for quite some time.
