In July, the MCAI dropped by 9.0% to 108.8. The Government MCAI went down by 8.4%, while the Conventional MCAI went down by 9.8%. The Jumbo MCAI, which is a part of the Conventional MCAI, went down by 13.4%, and the Conforming MCAI went down by 3.3%.
The Conventional, Government, Conforming, and Jumbo MCAIs are made using the same method as the Total MCAI. They are meant to show the relative credit risk and availability for each index. The number of loan programmes they look at is the main difference between the total MCAI and the Component Indices. The Government MCAI looks at FHA, VA, and USDA loan programmes, while the Conventional MCAI looks at loan programmes that aren’t run by the government. The Jumbo and Conforming MCAIs are a part of the conventional MCAI. FHA, VA, and USDA loans are not included in the Jumbo and Conforming MCAIs. The Jumbo MCAI looks at conventional loan programmes that don’t fit within conforming loan limits, while the Conforming MCAI looks at conventional loan programmes that do.
The “base levels” of the Conforming and Jumbo indices are the same as the Total MCAI (March 2012 = 100), but the “base levels” of the Conventional and Government indices were changed in March 2012. MBA adjusted the Conventional and Government indices so that they better showed where each index might be in March 2012 (the “base period”) compared to the benchmark of Total=100.
The Total MCAI has a longer series of historical data that shows how credit availability has changed over the past 10 years (expanded historical series does not include Conventional, Government, Conforming, or Jumbo MCAI). The expanded historical series goes from 2004 to 2010. It was made to show how credit availability has changed over the last 10 years, including during the housing crisis and the recession that followed. Before March 31, 2011, data was made using data that was measured less often and was less complete. It was measured every six months, and in the months between, the data was made up to make charts. No changes have been made to the expanded historical series from 2004 to 2010.
Before March 31, 2011, data was made using data that was measured less often and was less complete. It was measured every six months, and in the months in between, interpolations were used to make charts.
The MCAI is the only quantitative index that is standardised and only looks at mortgage credit.
Several factors related to a borrower’s eligibility are used to figure out the MCAI (credit score, loan type, loan-to-value ratio, etc.). MBA uses data from ICE Mortgage Technology and a formula made up by MBA to combine these metrics and underwriting criteria for more than 95 lenders and investors to come up with the MCAI, a summary measure that shows how much mortgage credit is available at a given time. Base date and values for the total index are March 31, 2012, which is 100; March 31, 2012, which is 73.5; and March 31, 2012, which is 183.5.
