Mortgage credit availability increased 0.9% in September to reach a score of 183.4 on the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI).
Credit availability for conventional loans increased 2.4% while credit availability for government loans decreased by 0.6%.
Looking at the component indices of the conventional MCAI, credit for jumbo loans increased 4.7% while credit for conforming loans decreased by 1.1%.
A decrease in the index score indicates that lending standards are tightening, while increases are indicative of loosening credit.
The index was benchmarked to 100 in March 2012.
“Credit availability increased slightly in September, driven by a five percent increase in the supply of jumbo loans,” says Joel Kan, associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting for the MBA, in a release. “The jumbo index, which grew from a combination of lower credit score requirements, non-QM loans, and investor products, is now at a record high since tracking began in 2011.”
“Meanwhile, the trend of tightening credit availability in conforming and government programs continued over the past few months, as both indices decreased,” Kan adds.