Mortgage credit continues to loosen
Its Mortgage Credit Availability Index reached 95, a 1% increase in June over May's 94.1
This was the sixth consecutive month the MCAI increased, but credit remains historically tight. The index has not been above its benchmark level of 100
"The recent growth in credit availability is encouraging, but the index is still hovering near 2012 lows," said Joel Kan, deputy chief economist, in a press release. "The jumbo index increased to its highest level since August 2022, but the conforming and government indices continue to indicate tight credit conditions, driven mainly by reduced industry capacity."
June rate lock data previously released by Optimal Blue found that
Rates for the 30-year fixed loan fell 6.86% on June 27 from 7.03% on May 30, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. It rose to 6.95% for July 3.
The conventional MCAI increased by 2% versus May, with the jumbo component increasing by 3.1%. This was offset by a 0.3% decline in conventional program offerings.
Meanwhile, the government index decreased by 0.1%.
Even though
The 10-year Treasury yield, one of the benchmarks used to price mortgages, fell to 4.17% as of 10 a.m. on Thursday morning based on both positive inflation news as well as investor reactions to
This is the lowest point for the 10-year since March 13, when it was also at 4.17%.
The MBA calculates the index using loan program data provided by ICE Mortgage Technology.
