Stricter mortgage lending standards introduced after the housing crash have helped reduce delinquencies and defaults but are also limiting access to homeownership, according to a study from the Pew Charitable Trusts. The effect is especially pronounced for borrowers with credit scores of 600 to 699, whose share of mortgage originations fell 13.3 percentage points from 2005 to 2024, reaching 22.3%. Over the same period, the share going to borrowers with scores of 700 or higher increased by 24.9 percentage points. Pew principal associate Adam Staveski said the system favors borrowers with long credit histories and substantial financial cushions, disproportionately affecting young adults, lower-income families, rural communities, and Black and Hispanic households. Mortgage performance has improved: only 4% to 5% of delinquent borrowers now default, compared with 55% in the early 2000s, aided in part by forbearance (temporary payment suspension), loan modifications, and payment deferrals. Housing conditions remain weak, however. Freddie Mac said the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.76% from 6.71% the previous week and 6.35% a year earlier, the highest level since June 2025. Existing-home sales fell 2% from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.98 million units, marking a third consecutive monthly decline and a 1.2% decrease from a year earlier. Capital Economics economist Thomas Ryan said rates could rise above 7% as the 10-year Treasury yield reaches its highest level since 2023, putting the forecast for average annual existing-home sales of 4.1 million at risk and making an average closer to 4 million more likely, which would be the weakest annual result since 1995.