CrossCountry Mortgage put a number on alternative credit scores this week. The lender says borrowers who received more favorable scores under VantageScore 4.0 saw loan-level price adjustments fall by an average of 62 bps in its first 60 days, about $2,500 in savings, and it is removing an 80% loan-to-value cap to widen eligibility across qualifying conventional loans, according to HousingWire and National Mortgage Professional. National Mortgage Professional is clear that the savings are not universal, and former FHFA Director Sandra Thompson questioned putting VantageScore and FICO on the same pricing grid, calling the change "no small task." On the government side, FHA Mortgagee Letter 2026-11 adds VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T as acceptable score models for case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2027, with HUD office hours on the change running November 16-20. That gives you a dated, factual reason to reopen conversations with buyers whose credit, not their rate, was the obstacle.
Rate is the supporting story today, not the lead. Bankrate's 30-year fixed reads 7.28%, the low of its 30-day window, which ran up to 7.57% on October 12, though still above its 90-day average of 7.06% and the 6.67% low from August 19. Freddie Mac's PMMS fell to 7.24% Thursday, its second straight weekly drop of 0.08, and sits 0.04 below where it stood four weeks earlier, so over the month rates are close to flat. With the rate roughly level over the month, credit is the more useful conversation to start this week.
Before you market any of this, ask your pricing desk two questions: does your lender price conventional loans off VantageScore 4.0 today, and what is its plan for FHA after January 1? The answer decides the message. If it does, send a short credit check-in email to purchase leads who paused this year, framed around a fresh look at their score and their options, with no promised result. If it does not yet, the same email still works as an education piece on the January FHA date, and you can follow up when your lender's pricing changes. Either way, keep payment figures out of the mass email and the social post: under Regulation Z, a payment amount in an advertisement triggers additional disclosures. Run the payment math one-to-one when the lead replies.
message your pricing or secondary desk and get a written answer on whether your conventional pricing accepts VantageScore 4.0 now, and when FHA alternative scores go live in your system.