Mortgage credit availability decreased 1.7% in November compared with October, falling to a score of 96.5 on the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), which was benchmarked to 100 in March 2012.
A decline in the MCAI indicates that lending standards are tightening, while increases are indicative of loosening credit.
In November, credit availability for conventional mortgages decreased 3.6% while credit for government loans was flat compared with the previous month.
Credit for jumbo loans decreased by 5.4%. Credit for conforming loans was flat.
“Credit availability in November declined to its lowest level in four months, driven by reduced offerings of non-QM and jumbo loan programs,” says Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist for the MBA, in a statement. “The conforming and government indices were unchanged over the month but remained close to multi-year lows. Overall credit availability was seven percent below last year’s level, as the industry has reduced capacity in response to declining origination volume and lenders continuing to simplify their loan offerings.”
Photo: Tierra Mallorca