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The Free Financial Advisor
The Free Financial Advisor
Business
Brandon Marcus

The Mortgage Market Is Sending Two Opposite Signals—Here’s What Buyers Should Know

CFPB Freddie Mac Housing Market MBA Mortgage Bankers Association
The Mortgage Market Is Sending Two Opposite Signals—Here’s What Buyers Should Know
A growing number of mortgages are being originated even as credit availability tightens, showing why rising lending activity does not necessarily mean an easier path to approval – Shutterstock

Mortgage lending is picking up, yet getting a mortgage has not necessarily become easier. That contradiction sits at the center of the housing market right now.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported 404,682 new mortgages in February 2026, a 35.4% increase from a year earlier. Yet its latest data also show credit tightness rising, while the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage credit availability fell in August.

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