Mortgage credit availability decreased in November, according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) that analyzes data from ICE Mortgage Technology.
The MCAI fell by 1.7%to 96.5 in November. A decline in the MCAI indicates that lending standards are tightening, while increases in the index are indicative of loosening credit. The index was benchmarked to 100 in March 2012.
[1]“Credit availability in November declined to its lowest level in four months, driven by reduced offerings of non-QM and jumbo loan programs,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist.
The Conventional MCAI decreased by 3.6%, while the Government MCAI remained unchanged. Of the component indices of the Conventional MCAI, the Jumbo MCAI decreased by 5.4%, and the Conforming MCAI remained unchanged.
[2]“The conforming and government indices were unchanged over the month but remained close to multi-year lows," said Kan. "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.”