Credit Access Dipped in August, but FHA Construction/Rehab Expanded

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said onrnThursday that overall access to mortgage credit tightened very slightly inrnAugust.  The Association’s MortgagernCredit Availability Index (MCAI) decreased 0.3 percentage points from 116.4 inrnJuly to 116.1 last month.</p

Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s Chief Economists said thatrnwhile overall access to credit tightened from July to August, “We did see some loosening in certain segments of the purchasernmarket.  In particular, lendersrninstituted additional offerings of loan programs like the FHA 203(k) homernimprovement program and one-time-close programs for financing newrnconstruction.”</p

The FHA 203(k) loan allows borrowers torninclude renovation expenses in their loan amount.  One-time-close loansrnstreamline the purchase and financing of new construction.</p

The MCAI analyzes data from the AllRegs®rnMarket Clarity® product.  It isrnbenchmarked to 100 in March 2012 and a decline in its number indicates thatrnlending standards are tightening while a higher number shows a loosening ofrncredit.  An increase in private lender jumbornloan programs had sent the index higher in July.

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