It was easier to get a jumbo mortgage in June than it has been in any month since 2011, according to a new report from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
On Tuesday, the MBA released its latest Mortgage Credit Availability Index, a report that analyzes data from Ellie Mae’s AllRegs Market Clarity business information tool.
The report shows that overall credit availability increased slightly in June, meaning credit became easier to obtain in June compared to May.
And while most categories saw slight increases, the availability of jumbo mortgage credit increased for the sixth straight month, rising to its highest level since 2011.
“Overall credit availability increased only slightly in June over May’s levels. Jumbo credit availability increased for the sixth month in a row and is at its highest level since 2011, when the survey began,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.
“Credit availability has generally increased in 2019 as lenders have worked to meet affordability challenges,” Kan continued. “Because mortgage rates have recently fallen and home price growth has decelerated in many markets, credit availability may stabilize at its current levels.”
According to the MBA report, the overall MCAI rose 0.2% to 189.8 in June. A decline in the MCAI shows that lending standards are tightening, while increases in the index shows the opposite.
Broken down by lending segment, the Conventional MCAI increased 0.3%, while the Government MCAI decreased by 0.1%. Of the component indices of the Conventional MCAI, the Jumbo MCAI increased by 0.6%, and the Conforming MCAI fell by 0.1%.
The Government MCAI looks at the loan programs of the Federal Housing Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Agriculture, while Conventional MCAI examines non-government loan programs.
The Jumbo and Conforming MCAIs are a subset of the conventional MCAI and do not include FHA, VA, or USDA loans. The Jumbo MCAI examines conventional programs outside conforming loan limits, while the Conforming MCAI examines conventional loan programs that fall under conforming loan limits.
