Nearly 27% of All Home Mortgage Loan Applications Were Denied in 2010

A The Wall Street Journal article a few days ago reported that 26.7 percent of all home mortgage applications were denied in 2010 by the 10 largest mortgage lenders. I have heard constant stories about how difficult it is to get a home loan but this is the first hard number I have seen on how large the percentage actually was.

One denial pointed out in the article was too close to home and probably is so to many of you who read my blog:

The article also highlights the plight of a Colorado real estate agent, who has an 800+ credit score, no debt and is putting over 50% down on a $400,000 house. She’s also getting a $400,000 cash settlement from a divorce but thanks to her spotty income the last 2 years from the slow housing market, the bank said no.

Maybe the pendulum has swung too far and it is time to go back to reasonableness in all things, especially something as important and often heart wrenching as buying a home. Maybe this is a solution to the mess we are in, if we weren’t too greedy we wouldn’t be where we are today and if we don’t go back to being reasonable, how long will it take us to get out of this quagmire??

In order of lowest denial rates to highest:

19.9% Minnesota
20.3% Virginia
21.0% South Dakota
21.0% Kansas
21.1% North Dakota
21.6% Iowa
21.8% Nebraska
22.4% Maryland
22.8% Colorado
22.8% District of Columbia
23.0% Wisconsin
23.1% North Carolina
23.3% Washington
23.6% California
23.7% Massachusetts
23.8% Alaska
24.4% Delaware
25.1% Missouri
25.1% Pennsylvania
25.2% Montana
25.5% Illinois
26.0% Connecticut
26.4% New Hampshire
26.5% Oregon
26.6% New Jersey
26.8% Wyoming
27.2% South Carolina
27.4% Arizona
27.5% Hawaii
28.2% Indiana
29.0% Idaho
29.1% Rhode Island
29.2% Nevada
29.5% Georgia
29.8% Maine
29.9% Tennessee
30.0% West Virginia
31.1% Kentucky
31.6% Michigan
32.2% Florida
32.8% Oklahoma
33.0% Arkansas
33.1% Alabama
33.5% Ohio
33.7% New Mexico
34.1% Louisiana
34.8% New York
35.1% Texas
36.6% Vermont
38.9% Mississippi

Thank you for reading this post. If I can ever be of help in finding you the perfect property here in the Napa Valley, please email me at Curtis@NapaValleyAddress.com.

Your Broker Extraordinaire, selling Napa Valley Real Estate from its heart, Yountville.