All Factoids that scroll across the bottom of the screen are provided from various sources and updated on a regular basis, no less than annually. Some items may also appear in online marketing materials and/or offline such as TV and radio.
Current Factoids indicate that the average credit score is 681, such information was obtained from based on several years of data compiled from reports based on FICO scores at the time of origination and that may not be indicative of the borrowers' credit worthiness at December 31, 2013. FICO scores can range between 300 and 850 points. Freddie Mac delivered a presentation in September 2014 at http://www.freddiemac.com/investors/pdffiles/investor-presentation.pdf (page 37) that provided the following information regarding average credit scores for total purchases of single family homes over the following years:
2009 – Average Score 756
2010 – Average Score 755
2011 – Average Score 755
2012 – Average Score 756
2013 – Average Score 749
2014 – Average Score 747 (YTD September 2014)
The Average VantageScore® 3.0 is 681 and the full range of scores are 300 to 850. Individuals with lower scores are seen as a higher risk by creditors. http://www.experian.com/live-credit-smart/state-of-credit-2013.html
Factoid regarding 58% of Americans not knowing their credit score can be found at: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/halloween-fright-most-consumers-dont-know-their-credit-score-229270961.html as well another interesting fact at http://guides.wsj.com/personal-finance/credit/how-to-monitor-your-credit-score-and-credit-report/. The article went on to say that higher credit scores generally equate to lower interest rates. In 2007, the national average FICO score was 723 and 58% of Americans have a higher score than 700, according to Fair Isaac.
Getting your Credit Score through LendingTree is done by what is deemed a "soft inquiry" of credit and it does not impact your credit score. It is the same as you looking at your credit score and/or obtaining your full annual Free Credit Report available at www.AnnualCreditReport.com or by calling 877-322-8228.
Average U.S. credit card debt of $7,087 can be found at: http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-card-data/average-credit-card-debt-household/. In addition, most of that debt had been carried for at least two years. In addition see http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/04/prweb11753416.htm.
Using more than 80% of your available credit may result in a lower credit score factoid can be found at: http://www.creditreport.org/good-credit-score/