2018: the Year of the First-Time Homebuyer

Many industry experts anticipate the number of first-time homebuyers will outpace the overall housing market in 2018, according to a new survey from Genworth Financial.

"... First-time home buyers still face many headwinds. While some of these ... are environment-driven, others can be addressed via improved awareness on the various low-down-payment solutions available in today's market," said Rohit Gupta, president and CEO of Genworth Mortgage Insurance, in a press release. National Mortgage News reports that almost half of mortgage executives anticipate upward growth in the housing market for 2018, in part due to strong lender inclination toward non-qualified mortgage loan originations.

Industry professionals were reportedly divided on their expectations for the most likely source for credit expansion next year. Among the most cited sources were LTV loans above 80 percent and 700 FICO scores below 700. Some respondents also claimed debt-to-income ratios above 41 percent will most likely be utilized for credit expansion in 2017.

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