CFPB Seeks to Delay Mandatory Compliance of General QM Rule
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today proposed to delay the mandatory compliance date of the General Qualified Mortgage (QM) final rule from July 1, 2021 to Oct. 1, 2022.
In a press release, the agency said it is extending the compliance date to “ensure home owners struggling with the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have the options they need.”
The General QM final rule would replace 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. 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.
QM loans are presumed to be made based on the lender’s reasonable determination of the home owner’s ability to repay the loan.
The CFPB said that extending the mandatory compliance date of the General QM final rule “would allow lenders more time to offer QM loans based on the home owners’ debt-to-income (DTI) ratio, and not solely based on a pricing cut-off. Extending the compliance date of the General QM final rule would also give lenders more time to use the GSE Patch, which provides QM status to loans that are eligible for sale to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.”
Latest from NAHBNow
Oct 06, 2025
Make Fire Prevention Part of Your Jobsite Safety CultureOctober 5-11 is National Fire Prevention Week, an annual public outreach and awareness campaign by the National Fire Protection Association.
Oct 03, 2025
NAHB's Monthly Update Features Government Shutdown Talking PointsThe update provides the latest messaging framework to help members articulate housing priorities and latest news related to the recent government shutdown and new tariffs.
Latest Economic News
Oct 03, 2025
Supply-Side Cost Pressures Drove Housing as Inflation Leader in 2024Though the rate of inflation peaked in June 2022, consumer prices continued to increase throughout 2023 and 2024 as inflation drove further price growth, according to 2024 CPI review from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Oct 02, 2025
Square Foot Prices Moderate in 2024Median square foot prices for new single-family detached (SFD) homes started in 2024 grew modestly, according to NAHB’s analysis of the latest Survey of Construction (SOC) data. For custom, or contractor-built, homes, the median price was $166 per square foot of floor space, up slightly from $162 in 2023.
Oct 02, 2025
17% of NAHB Builders Built Age-Restricted Housing in 2024Only 17% of NAHB builder members build age-restricted housing for people age 55 or older, according to 2024 Member Census. This is up two percentage points from the previous year. However, this share has remained within a narrow band (15%-17%) since the question was added to the member census in 2009.