2.2 million consumers to enter the US housing market in the next 5 years

LONDON - July 6, 2015 - PRLog -- According to recent analysis by TransUnion, one of the three major credit reporting agencies, 2015 will see 700,000 consumers re-entering the housing market with this number growing to 2.2 million over the next 5 years. Home owners who struggled to keep up with mortgage payments during the recession and moved into rented accommodation are now nearing the point where they could once again be eligible for a home loan. The re-entry of these buyers is expected to further increase demand for housing units and the suddenness of this increase will no doubt make it hard for developers to meet this demand which should have create upward pressure on prices.

The analysis considers a person eligible to re-enter the housing market if they have no unpaid judgements, garnishes or outstanding liens, no accounts past due, a FICO credit score of at least 620 and for at least four years to have elapsed since  short sale or seven years since a foreclosure. TransUnion reported that while 18% of consumers have rebounded from the housing crisis and now meet these criteria, only 42% have re-entered the housing market so far.

Joe Mellman, vice president and head of TransUnion’s mortgage group explained this phenomenon by saying: “As 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,”

Author: Anton Tardif