Mortgage credit availability recovered in July after stalling last month, according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index, a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The MCAI is calculated using several factors related to borrower eligibility, including credit score, loan type and loan-to-value ratio. These metrics and underwriting criteria for over 95 lenders/investors are combined by the MBA.
The MCAI increased 2.9% to 125.5 in July.
A decline in the MCAI indicates that lending standards are tightening, while increases in the index are indicative of a loosening of credit. The index was benchmarked to 100 in March 2012.
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(Source: MBA)
“Credit availability increased in July, mainly driven by higher-balance loan programs,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s chief economist. “Many investors are fine-tuning their cash-out refinance requirements to meet increasing borrower demand for home equity financing. Some investors increased the availability of low down payment loans.”
Of the four component indices, the Conventional MCAI saw the greatest loosening (up 5.2% over the month) followed by the Jumbo MCAI (up 4.7%), the Government MCAI (up 0.9%), and the Conforming MCAI (up 0.4%).
Click to enlarge
(Source: MBA)
Click to enlarge
(Source: MBA)
Click to enlarge
(Source: MBA)
Click to enlarge
(Source: MBA)
