Mortgage credit availability rose for the third straight month in February as lenders continued to tweak their loan offerings in response to new mortgage rules, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported.
The trade group’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) increased 0.44 percent to 113.5 in February from 113 in January. An increase in the index reflects easing credit conditions, while a decline shows that they are tightening.
The index was benchmarked to 100 in March 2012. If the MCAI had been tracked in 2007, the tail end of the housing boom, the index would have registered a level of roughly 800.
Source: MBA