Mortgage credit showed signs of loosening up in March, and with it, more availability for lower credit scores and high LTV products to enter the housing market, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in a report on Thursday.
The group’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index rose .6% to 125.4 last month, a positive indicator after pandemic-driven factors plunged the index from record highs previously seen in late 2019.
Measuring mortgage credit availability by loan type, the Conforming MCAI that tracks loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rose .02%. The Conventional MCAI that measures loans not backed by the government gained .8%.
The Government MCAI that includes mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration, the Veterans Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture increased for the sixth time in seven months to its highest level in a year – up .4%, the MBA said.
Most notably, the Jumbo MCAI measuring high-balance loans rose 1.5%, also increasing for the sixth consecutive month. It’s an indicator that the non-QM sector is showing a strong rebound after many lenders pulled back from jumbo products in the first half of 2020.
https://www.housingwire.com/articles/looser-mortgage-credit-may-give-first-time-buyers-a-chance/
