Providing more evidence of a housing recovery, Q1 2013 mortgage originations increased 16 percent year over year to $471 billion. The Midwest region delivered the strongest annual gain, with a 29 percent increase over the previous year.

A recent survey that polled Americans on credit scores found that while nearly half of respondents (49 percent) check their credit scores at least once per year, the rest check once every two years or less, including a worrisome 22 percent who never check. The most common reasons for checking a credit score include purchasing a home (31 percent) or an automobile (32 percent).

VantageScore Solutions’ analysts recently examined how many accounts consumers with prime credit scores typically have in their credit file. Consumers who generally qualify for loans have an average of 13 loans in their credit files, and typically the oldest loan is more than 15 years old.