What Credit Score Do You Need to Buy a House in 2026?

What credit score do you actually need for each loan type?

The honest answer starts with the program floors, the lowest scores each loan program allows before any lender adds its own rules. These floors come from the agencies themselves, so they are the firmest numbers in this whole conversation. Everything a lender does on top of them raises the bar, never lowers it. Here is where each major loan type draws its line as of September 2026.

• FHA: a 580 score qualifies for maximum financing, which means 3.5 percent down, and 500 to 579 is limited to 90 percent financing, or 10 percent down, per HUD. Below 500 is ineligible.
• Conventional through Fannie Mae: no minimum score for loans run through its Desktop Underwriter system since November 16, 2025. Manually underwritten loans still need 620 for a fixed rate or 640 for an adjustable rate.
• VA loans: the VA does not require a minimum score, though its own buyer's guide says lenders typically may want 620 unless you make a large down payment.
• USDA loans: the USDA handbook says a 640 or higher meets its minimum credit standard when there are no major red flags. Below 640, lenders must review your credit cautiously, and USDA generally reads that range as unacceptable credit unless you document extenuating circumstances.

Is it true you need a 620 for an FHA loan?

No, and it is a myth worth clearing up. HUD's own floor is a 580 score for maximum financing, which means 3.5 percent down, and 500 to 579 with a larger 10 percent down payment. The 620 number people attach to FHA usually comes from lender overlays, or from conventional loans, where 620 is still the manual underwriting floor for a fixed-rate Fannie Mae loan. Confusing the two can talk someone out of buying a home they actually qualify for, so it is worth getting right.

What is a lender overlay and why does it raise the bar?

A lender overlay is an extra requirement a bank or mortgage company adds on top of the program floor to lower its own risk. Overlays are real and they move. After Fannie Mae dropped its minimum score for automated approvals, the lender Carrington kept its own 620 minimum on conventional loans until June 2026, and the VA's own buyer's guide says lenders typically may want a 620 on VA loans even though the VA sets no minimum. This is why two people with the same score can hear yes from one lender and no from another. If a low score gets you turned down, ask whether you missed a program floor or just one lender's overlay, because another lender may draw the line lower.

What are the new mortgage credit scores in 2026?

VantageScore 4.0 is now open to every approved Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lender, FICO 10T is approved but not usable yet, and FHA adds both in January 2027. According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie and Freddie began a limited rollout of VantageScore 4.0 in April 2026 and opened it to all approved lenders on September 9, 2026, with no prior written approval needed. FHFA says FICO 10T is not currently eligible for delivery and has given no date. FHA will accept both new models for case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2027, under FHA INFO 2026-21.

Which score will a lender pull on you today?

As of September 2026, it may still be Classic FICO, so ask your lender which model it uses. FHFA says Classic FICO is still accepted and that no retirement date has been announced, so lenders can keep pulling it even though VantageScore 4.0 is now open to all of them. Classic FICO for mortgages means FICO Score 2 from Experian, FICO Score 4 from TransUnion, and FICO Score 5 from Equifax, according to myFICO, and Fannie Mae qualifies you on the middle of your three scores.

All three bureau reports are still required, a setup called a tri-merge. In January 2025, FHFA moved its planned switch to two reports, called a bi-merge, from late 2025 to a date to be determined, and in September 2026 FHFA leadership was reported to be seriously considering it again. Until a new rule actually lands, plan on a lender pulling all three of your reports.

How does trended data change what helps your score?

The new models can see the direction your balances are heading, not just where they sit on one day. FICO says FICO 10T looks at trended data from the previous 24 months or longer, meaning it can tell whether your balances are climbing, flat, or shrinking over time. VantageScore says VantageScore 4.0 also uses trended credit data, though it does not publish the lookback period. That is a real reason to start knocking balances down well before you apply, because as these models reach more lenders, a steady paydown record is exactly the kind of pattern trended data can show.

Here is what I would do before house-hunting. Pull all three of your reports free at AnnualCreditReport.com, because the middle of your three scores is what a lender is most likely to use, and the same error sitting on two of your reports can drag that middle score down. Dispute anything inaccurate, outdated, or unverifiable before you apply, since a single wrongly reported late payment or collection can be the gap between a 580 and a 620. Cleaning up that paperwork across three bureaus is the work a done-for-you service like mine handles, and no honest person can promise you a specific score by a specific date. Every one of those disputes is also free to send yourself.