How difficult it is to be approved for a mortgage depends on the availability of mortgage credit. That means a combination of current lending standards and available loan programs play a role in which borrowers get the go ahead and which are denied. The Mortgage Bankers Association keeps a monthly measure of whether credit is loosening or tightening with its Mortgage Credit Availability Index. Any increase in the monthly index indicates credit is loosening, while decreases mean standards have tightened. According to the most recent release, credit availability was mostly unchanged in May, with a slight increase over the month. Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, says jumbo loans saw the biggest gains. “Mortgage credit availability in May stayed close to the previous month’s levels,” Kan said. “Given the economic uncertainty and rate volatility, lenders held their loan program offerings fairly stable, although based on the subindexes, jumbo credit availability increased slightly over the month.” (source)
