Fed Loan Officer Survey: Mortgage Standards Basically Unchanged, Housing Loan Demand Weaker in Third Quarter
The Federal Reserve released its October 2026 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices (SLOOS) on November 2: banks reported that lending standards were left basically unchanged, on net, over the third quarter for most types of residential mortgage loans, while demand was reported weaker, on balance, across all residential real estate loan categories, with demand for home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) unchanged.
Responses were received from 61 domestic banks and 18 U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks. The survey was sent out on September 21, 2026, with responses due by October 5.
For first-lien closed-end home-purchase loans eligible for purchase by the government-sponsored enterprises, the shares of banks reporting moderately or substantially weaker demand rose compared with the July survey, and banks reported weaker demand across government, qualified-mortgage and other categories as well. On standards, the overwhelming majority of banks reported no change for each mortgage category.
The SLOOS is the Federal Reserve’s quarterly survey of bank lending officers on changes in lending standards and loan demand, watched by markets as a directional gauge of credit conditions.
(Source: Federal Reserve Board)
Source: Federal Reserve Board
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美联储 Eccles 大楼照片（CC BY 4.0；Wikimedia Commons）/ Eccles Federal Reserve Building, Washington, D.C. (CC BY 4.0; via Wikimedia Commons)
