On April 22, 2026, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) jointly announced that housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will officially begin using a new credit scoring system—VantageScore 4.0—to evaluate mortgage applications.

The Director of the FHFA stated that this move aims to modernize credit assessment by introducing more advanced predictive models, helping millions of Americans who responsibly pay rent but have insufficient credit histories qualify for home loans. The new VantageScore 4.0 model utilizes advanced data analysis techniques to incorporate alternative data, such as rental and utility payments, providing a more comprehensive evaluation of a borrower's creditworthiness.

At the same time, HUD announced that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will also accept and begin implementing this scoring system for the mortgages it insures. Officials noted that expanding the use of credit scoring models will foster market competition, potentially lowering mortgage costs and creating opportunities for more potential homebuyers.

Fannie Mae has updated its selling guide to support the adoption of VantageScore 4.0. During the transition period, lenders may choose to use either the traditional FICO score or VantageScore 4.0 for individual loans, but they cannot use both simultaneously.