Millennials could stand to make some improvements to their credit files.

Only 39 percent of millennials without a home loan have a prime or better score, and the majority are facing higher delinquency rates on personal loans, shows a newly released study from Experian, an information services company. Eighty-six percent of millennials recently surveyed say they believe that buying a house is a good financial investment, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ data. However, Experian’s research shows that only 15 percent are owners today. Further, 61 percent of millennials may need to improve their personal loan and bank card usage habits in order to obtain lower rates for when they are ready to purchase a home. “

This data presents good news for younger, thin file millennials interested in buying a home,” says Michele Raneri, vice president of analytics and business development at Experian. “We’re seeing that small changes in financial behaviors such as building a history of on-time payments and improved credit practices can help lenders shift from viewing millennials as high-risk to low-risk relatively quickly. Knowing where you stand from a credit perspective is critical to improving your financial well-being.” Experian evaluated personal loan trends, credit scores, bank card behaviors, and mortgage trends of about 60 million millennial consumers. “Often, young people start their credit journey with a couple of mistakes first, but in the end, these mistakes create opportunities to learn how to use and build credit responsibly,” says Rod Griffin, director of consumer education and awareness at Experian. Millennial home buyers are, on average, 31 years old with an income of $64,000, Experian’s data shows. 

Source: Experian