Access to mortgage credit increased in February, according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
The MCAI rose by 1.1% to 107.1 in February. 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.
The Conventional MCAI increased 2.7% while the Government MCAI decreased by 0.8%. Of the component indices of the Conventional MCAI, the Jumbo MCAI increased by 2.9% and the Conforming MCAI rose by 2.0%.
“Lenders increased mortgage credit supply last month, particularly for refinancing, as mortgage rates moved lower in January and February,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. “Most of last month’s supply growth was in loan programs that allowed for cash-out refinance and on investor homes, although these were still limited to lower LTV borrowers. The jumbo index increased by 3% for the second straight month, again driven by growth in non-QM loan programs. The government index was the only component that saw a decline in credit supply over the month, as lenders likely tightened underwriting standards given the recent increase in FHA mortgage delinquency rates.”
