Tightened Lending Standards courtesy of Fannie Mae

As of December 12, Fannie Mae will tighten their lending standards. Part of the new lending guidelines state that borrowers who are putting at least 20% down will need to have a minimum credit score of 620 (as opposed to the current score, which is 580). The new cutoff for total debt cannot exceed 45% of borrower's monthly income.

Why the tightened standards, you ask? On average, loans to borrowers with less than a 620 credit score are about nine times more likely to go into default.