---
title: It's Finally Getting Easier to Get The Best Kind of Mortgage
description: It just a got a little easier for buyers to qualify for so-called prime mortgages, less-expensive loans that go to the highest quality borrowers.
authors:
  - name: Ian Salisbury
    role: Senior Editor
    url: https://money.com/author/ian-salisbury-2/
    bio: Ian Salisbury was a senior editor at Money, focusing on investing, banks and mortgage.
    at_money_since: 2013
    articles: 91
    covers:
      - Mortgages
      - Economy and Politics
      - Housing
      - Investing
      - Lifestyle
      - Loans
      - Personal Finance
      - Retirement
      - Shopping
      - Taxes
    former_staff: true
published: '2016-02-05T17:08:21.000Z'
modified: '2016-02-05T17:08:21.000Z'
section: Mortgages
tags:
  - housing
  - mortgage rates
  - real estate
word_count: 189
canonical: https://money.com/prime-mortgages-easier-to-get/
type: Article
source: structured-blocks
---

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![150205_ff_primemortgages](https://img.money.com/2016/02/150205_ff_primemortgages.jpg)

It's no secret millions of millennials and Gen Xers are having trouble buying homes. But here's some good news on that front: It just a got a little easier for these and other buyers to qualify for so-called prime mortgages, loans that go to the highest quality borrowers.

A decade after the housing market collapse, some would-be homeowners are [still locked out of the housing market](http://fortune.com/2015/04/10/mortgages-hard-to-get/) despite mortgage rates that remain near record lows. But banks, which got burned by bad loans a decade ago, are finally starting to loosen underwriting standards, according to real estate website [The Mortgage Reports](http://themortgagereports.com/18963/federal-reserve-senior-loan-officer-survey-mortgage-rates-q4-2015).

Based on recent Federal Reserve data, about 18% of banks loosened mortgage loan standards last quarter, while just 3% tightened them, wrote The Mortgage Reports. More banks have loosened standards than tightened them for seven straight quarters. In addition, roughly 7 out of 10 mortgage applications led to closings last quarter, the most on record, according to statistics compiled by software company Ellie Mae.

Prime mortgages require borrowers to have a credit score of at least 740 and meet other financial requirements, including making a substantial down payment.

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