In a new report the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said, according to its Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), availability of mortgage credit rose 0.5 percent in April to 122.0 following an increase in March of 2.3 percent to 121.4. MHProNews has learned from housingwire the index was benchmarked at 100 in march 2012.

Several announcements from the federal government recently have contributed to the consistent rise in mortgage credit the last several months. MBA Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni said, “Mortgage credit availability increased on net in April. The increase was driven by new offerings of FHA’s 203K home improvement program, new VA offerings, and new jumbo products. The increase was partially offset by some investors tightening underwriting criteria on conventional cash out offerings.”

According to MBA’s report, the government MCAI which measures VA, FHA and USDA programs rose by 1.1 percent in April, which drove much of the increase. The jumbo MCAI rose 0.8 percent in April, while loan programs that fall under conforming loan limits rose 0.2 percent in April. However, the conventional MCAI that measures non-government loan programs dropped in April 0.6 percent.

Credit remains far below what it was prior to the run-up to the financial crisis in 2008. ##

(Image credit: texaslendingtoday)

Article submitted by Matthew J. Silver to Daily Business News-MHProNews.