Mortgage credit availability was basically flat in April, rising just 0.1% compared with March to reach a score of 94.0 on the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), which was benchmarked to 100 in March 2012.
Mortgage credit availability for conventional loans increased 0.3%, while credit availability for government loans was flat.
Within the conventional realm, credit availability for jumbo loans increased by 0.3%, while credit for conforming loans increased by 0.3%.
“Mortgage credit availability was little changed in April, with credit categories such as conventional, conforming, and jumbo seeing very small monthly gains,” says Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist for the MBA, in a statement. “The supply of credit has stabilized, expanding slightly over the past four months but remaining close to 2012 lows.
“Lenders continue to reduce capacity with mortgage rates still above 7 percent and origination volume moving at a slow pace,” Kan adds. “Even with challenging affordability conditions and fairly strong housing demand, credit remains tight and housing supply low.”
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