Trump housing chief says new rules help Americans with mortgage costs

Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Bill Pulte praised Rocket Mortgage on Monday for becoming the first ever mortgage lender to use VantageScore 4.0 as its preferred credit scoring model for all eligible loans.

Pulte credited President Donald Trump for the change, telling Just The News in a statement that bringing competition to credit scores is helping Americans "achieve the American dream."

"President Trump is saving people on closing costs in a way that no other president has done," Pulte told Just The News. "By bringing competition to credit scores, people can now use their rent history to help Americans achieve the American dream." 

The announcement comes after Rocket Mortgage spent four months testing the change, which found that VantageScore helped more clients qualify and move forward in the mortgage process and also reduced credit scoring costs.

The company said that those who saved money with the new VantageScore 4.0 method saved an average of $1,600 at closing.

The company also said that during the fourth quarter of 2026, the company will default to VantageScore 4.0 for mortgages that will be delivered to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Veteran Affairs home loans and any other eligible mortgages.

The new method evaluates how someone's credit behavior changes over time, including patterns in balances and payments. The model incorporates rent and utility payment information when it is included in a consumer's credit file, enabling it to generate scores for consumers whose limited credit histories leave them without a score under conventional models.

"The mortgage industry has relied on one credit scoring model for decades," Rocket Mortgage CEO Jay Bray said. "Competition is healthy, especially when it can lower costs and expand responsible access to homeownership. We did the work, compared the models and chose the one that helped more qualified clients.

"With our mission to 'help everyone home' this decision only made sense," he continued. "We thank Director Pulte for his leadership in encouraging multiple credit scoring models that ultimately benefit the American homebuyer."

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.