CFPB Issues Final Qualified Mortgage Rules

Housing Finance
Published

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today issued two final rules related to qualified mortgage (QM) loans. The General QM Final Rule replaces the current requirement for General QM loans that the consumer's debt-to-income ratio (DTI) not exceed 43%, with a limit based on the loan's pricing. The second rule creates a new category for QMs, Seasoned QMs.

In adopting a price-based approach to replace the specific DTI limit for General QM loans, the CFPB determined that a loan's price is a strong indicator of a consumer's ability to repay and is a more holistic and flexible measure of a consumer's ability to repay than DTI alone. A loan meets the general QM definition if its annual percentage rate exceeds the average prime offer rate (APOR) for a comparable transaction by less than 2.25 percentage points.

In addition, the General QM Final Rule:

  • Provides higher pricing thresholds for loans with smaller loan amounts, for certain manufactured housing loans, and for subordinate-lien transactions.
  • Retains the General QM loan definition’s existing product-feature and underwriting requirements and limits on points and fees.
  • Requires lenders to consider a consumer’s DTI ratio or residual income, income or assets other than the value of the dwelling, and debts and removes appendix Q and provides more flexible options for creditors to verify the consumer’s income or assets other than the value of the dwelling and the consumer’s debts for QM loans.

"Through this General QM Final Rule, we are working to create an appropriate, more flexible General QM loan definition," said CFPB Director Kathleen L. Kraninger. "Our final rule’s price-based approach strikes the best balance between assessing consumers’ ability to repay and promoting access to responsible, affordable mortgage credit."

CFPB also is encouraging innovation in the mortgage origination market through the issuance of the Seasoned QM Final Rule. The rule creates a new category of Seasoned QMs for first-lien, fixed-rate covered transactions that have met certain performance requirements, are held in portfolio by the originating creditor or first purchaser for a 36-month period, comply with general restrictions on product features and points and fees, and meet certain underwriting requirements.

The two rules will take effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, with a mandatory compliance date for the General QM Final Rule of July 21, 2021. However, lenders can use the new rule during the optional compliance period between the effective date and July 21.

The CFPB had previously extended the "Government-Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) Patch" that allows mortgage loans that are eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to receive a safe harbor granted to qualified mortgages QMs. The Patch will expire on the General QM Final Rule's mandatory compliance date or if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exit conservatorship.

Read the General QM final rule.

Read the Seasoned QM final rule.

For more information, contact Curtis Milton at 800-368-5242 x8597.

Subscribe to NAHBNow

Log in or create account to subscribe to notifications of new posts.

Log in to subscribe

Latest from NAHBNow

Sponsored Content

Jul 02, 2025

5 Proven Strategies Smart Builders Use to Grow in Any Market

Sound Capital has worked with builders across market cycles for over 20 years. They have seen who thrived when others pulled back, and they've studied the strategies they used to scale while competitors were sidelined. Here are five things they all had in common.

Membership | Advocacy

Jul 02, 2025

From Disaster Relief to Challenging Gas Bans, HBAs are Making a Difference

Nearly two dozen HBAs received Association Excellence Awards for outstanding contributions they made on behalf of their members and communities in 2024.

View all

Latest Economic News

Economics

Jul 02, 2025

Two or More Story Home Starts Rebound in 2024

Over half of new single-family homes built in 2024 were two or more stories, according the recent release of the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC). After declining in 2023, the share of homes started with two or more stories increased again in 2024, continuing the upward trend in place since 2020.

Economics

Jul 01, 2025

May Private Residential Construction Spending Dips

Private residential construction spending fell by 0.5% in May, marking the fifth straight month of decreases. This drop was primarily driven by reduced spending on single-family construction. Compared to a year ago, total spending was down 6.7%, as the housing sector continues to navigate the economic uncertainty stemming from ongoing tariff concerns and elevated mortgage rates.

Economics

Jul 01, 2025

Flat Job Openings for Construction

The count of open, unfilled positions in the construction industry held steady amid a slowdown for housing, per the May Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).