Mortgage credit availability decreased 0.2% in October compared with September and fell to a score of 181.0 on the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI).
A decrease in the MCAI indicates that lending standards are tightening, while increases are indicative of loosening credit. The index was benchmarked to 100 in March 2012.
Credit availability for jumbo loans decreased 2%, while credit availability for conventional loans decreased 1%. Credit availability for government loans increased 0.3%, while credit availability conforming loans increased 0.2%.
“Credit availability decreased only slightly in October and has been relatively flat for the year to date,” says Lynn Fisher, vice president of research and economics for the MBA, in a release. “While government and conforming credit programs saw slight increases in availability in October, a moderate decrease in the number of investor jumbo offerings resulted in a decrease in the total index.”