Average Credit Score for Online Mortgage Shoppers Was 70 Points Above Average FICO Score for 2012

MEQUON, WI, Jan 22, 2013 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- A review by MortgageMarvel.com of more than 450,000 online mortgage applications received in 2012 found that the national average credit score for mortgage applicants increased by four points over 2011 to 734. By comparison, the average FICO score nationwide stood at 664 as of Nov. 30, 2012, so online mortgage shoppers on average had a FICO score 70 points higher than the national average.

Mortgage Marvel found that California mortgage applicants, for the third year in a row, had the highest average credit scores in the nation at 755 -- a full 21 points above the national, online mortgage-shopper average of 734. Mississippi mortgage applicants, also for the third consecutive year, had the lowest average credit score at 689, which is 45 points below the national average.

"It's worth noting that even the lowest average credit score of 689 is still considered to be a good credit score," said Rick Allen, chief operating officer of Mortgage Marvel. "If you're shopping for a first home, a score in this range is certainly considered to be good, and it will get you a reasonably priced mortgage." Borrowers shouldn't necessarily be discouraged if their credit scores are not as high as those in the Mortgage Marvel study, Allen said.

FHA and VA loans, for example, often have lower credit score requirements.

Mortgage Marvel anticipates that average U.S. credit scores will continue to move upward in 2013, Allen said, as employment opportunities improve and incomes rise.

Here are the 10 states with the highest average credit scores among online mortgage shoppers in 2012: ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- Credit Score Ranking - Top 10 U.S. States ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- State Average Credit Score 2012 Rank in 2012 (Rank in 2011, 2010) (2011, 2010) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 California (1, 1) 755 (754, 755) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 Hawaii (4, 2) 754 (748, 752) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 Oregon (2, 4) 751 (750, 751) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 Connecticut (5, 3) 747 (745, 751) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 Wisconsin (3, 5) 746 (749, 747) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 Washington (8, 11) 744 (741, 744) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 New Hampshire (7, 9) 744 (741, 744) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 Utah (17, 21) 744 (734, 736) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 Rhode Island (6, 7) 743 (745, 745) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 Vermont (11, 10) 742 (740, 744) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here are the 10 states with the lowest average credit scores among online mortgage shoppers in 2012: ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------------- Credit Score Ranking - Bottom 10 U.S. States ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ State Average Credit Score 2012 Rank in 2012 (Rank in 2011, 2010) (2011, 2010) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 41 Wyoming (45, 44) 716 (704, 716) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 42 Texas (40, 43) 715 (708, 716) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 43 Tennessee (41, 48) 715 (708, 704) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 44 Kentucky (43, 34) 712 (708, 724) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 45 Alaska (44, 39) 708 (706, 722) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 46 Oklahoma (46, 45) 704 (701, 710) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 47 West Virginia (48, 49) 702 (697, 700) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 48 Louisiana (47, 46) 702 (698, 709) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 49 Arkansas (49, 47) 693 (691, 707) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 50 Mississippi (50, 50) 689 (686, 695) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The information for the Mortgage Marvel review was compiled by analyzing more than 450,000 mortgage applications received in 2012 by clients of Mortgagebot, a D+H company. Mortgagebot is the owner of Mortgage Marvel and the provider of the Enterprise suite of integrated, loan-origination solutions, providing a web-delivered solution from application through closing.

About Mortgage Marvel and Mortgagebot Mortgage Marvel (www.MortgageMarvel.com) is an award-winning mortgage-shopping service that delivers accurate, anonymous, real-time rate quotes in seconds from a selection of hundreds of lenders. Mortgage Marvel uniquely enables borrowers to link directly to their preferred lender -- where they can complete a mortgage application and get pre-approved with fully compliant disclosures, all in about 20 minutes.

Mortgage Marvel is operated by Mortgagebot LLC (www.Mortgagebot.com), a D+H company, that provides mortgage and consumer lending technology to nearly 1,300 clients nationwide. Mortgagebot delivers the award-winning, end-to-end platform -- Mortgagebot Enterprise(TM)-- as a scalable, web-based solution for lenders to maximize their lending potential and streamline all origination processes. With Mortgagebot EnterprisePOS(TM), lenders can automate every point-of-sale channel where business is captured: consumer-direct, branch, and loan officer, and integrate directly into the all-in-one Mortgagebot EnterpriseLOS(TM)-- for processing, closing, imaging, and secondary marketing -- or to third-party loan origination systems.

For further information, contact Ana Tackett 480.318.1238 Email Contact SOURCE: Mortgagebot http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct id=12059DDC9EFCD70D

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