Blog

Mortgage Credit, Home Price Sentiment Index, Mortgage rates edged lower in latest week

November 08, 2017

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported this week that mortgage credit availability tightened a bit in October following some loosening in September. The MBA’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) fell by 0.2% to 181.0 with two of the four components decreasing. A decline in the MCAI indicates that lending standards are tightening, while increases in the index are indicative of loosening credit. Lynn Fisher, MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics says, “While government and conforming credit programs saw slight increases in availability in October, a moderate decrease in the number of investor jumbo offerings resulted in a decrease in the total index.”

Government sponsored entity Fannie Mae released its Home Price Sentiment Index (HPSI) on Tuesday slipping on diminished home buyer and seller sentiment. Fannie’s HPSI fell 3.1 points on October to 85.2, falling from its all-time high matched in September. The net share of respondents who said now is a good time to sell a home decreased 8 percentage points compared to September while the net share who reported that now is a good time to buy a home fell 6 percentage points in October.

Mortgage rates edged lower in the latest week as reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The 30-year conforming fixed-rate mortgage fell four basis points to 4.18%, while the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with jumbo loan balances declined to 4.12% from 4.16%. The MBA also reported that its refinance index fell 0.5%, purchase index +0.5%. Mortgage rates remain just above all-time lows.