What Credit Score Do You Need to Buy a House?

Your credit score does two things in a mortgage application: it decides which lenders will consider you, and it influences the rate you are offered. Neither is as rigid as people assume, and a below-average score is rarely the end of the conversation.

The rough thresholds

• 680 and up — full access to A-lender pricing, including the best insured rates.
• 620 to 679 — most A lenders will still work with you, sometimes with a small rate adjustment or a slightly larger down payment on uninsured files.
• Below 620 — A lenders get cautious. Alternative (B) lenders and credit unions become the path, at a rate roughly 1–2% higher, usually as a one-to-three-year bridge while you rebuild.
• Below 550, or a recent bankruptcy or consumer proposal — private lenders can still fund a purchase against strong equity, priced for the risk, with a defined exit plan.

The insured space has a hard floor around 600 for most default insurers.

What actually moves your score

Payment history is the largest factor. One missed payment can drop a good score 60–100 points and it takes months to recover. Set every minimum to autopay.

Utilization — how much of your available credit you are using — is second. Keeping balances under 30% of each card's limit, and ideally under 10%, helps quickly. Paying a card down before the statement date, not the due date, is the lever most people miss.

Credit age and mix matter less but are real. Do not close your oldest card to "simplify."

Hard inquiries from applying for new credit ding the score slightly. Rate-shopping a mortgage through one broker counts as a single inquiry; applying to several lenders yourself does not.

Practical steps before you apply

• Pull your report from both bureaus and dispute any errors — they are common.
• Pay revolving balances down below 30% at least one statement cycle before applying.
• Do not open or close accounts, or co-sign anything, in the 90 days before you apply.
• If you have a thin file, a secured card used lightly and paid in full builds history.

A 610 score is not a decline — it is a different lender and a plan to be back in A pricing at renewal. What matters most is that the pattern since any past trouble is clean.