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By Dave Hershman, Senior Vice President, Sales of Weichert Financial

Part I of my response to the question: I have been advised by my branch manager to start visiting open houses on the weekends. However, I have no idea what to say to the Realtor holding the house open. Any ideas in this regard? -- Bob from Virginia

Lenders Respond to First Time Home Buyers, Credit Loosened

Mortgage credit availability increased in October according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index, a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association, which analyzes data from Ellie Mae's AllRegs Market Clarity business information tool.

The MCAI increased 2.5 percent to 186.7 in October. A decline in the MCAI indicates that lending standards are tightening, while increases in the index are indicative of loosening credit. The index was benchmarked to 100 in March 2012. The Conventional MCAI increased, up 5.5 percent, and the Government MCAI decreased, down 0.4 percent. Of the component indices of the Conventional MCAI, the Jumbo MCAI increased by 6.3 percent while the Conforming MCAI increased by 4.6 percent.

"Credit availability increased in October, driven largely by an expansion in the supply of conventional credit, while government credit fell slightly over the month," said Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting. "Reversing a trend from last month, lenders made more conventional and low-down payment programs available to prospective borrowers. This increase in supply was likely in response to a growing number of first-time home buyers in the market, as home price appreciation has slowed and wage growth has picked up. Jumbo credit availability also expanded last month, with the jumbo index increasing again to its highest level since the survey began."

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association; Powered by Ellie Mae's AllRegs^® Market Clarity

CONVENTIONAL, GOVERNMENT, CONFORMING, AND JUMBO MCAI COMPONENT INDICES The MCAI increased 2.5 percent to 186.7 in October. The Conventional MCAI increased (5.5 percent) and the Government MCAI decreased (0.4 percent). Of the component indices of the Conventional MCAI, the Jumbo MCAI increased (6.3 percent), while the Conforming MCAI increased (4.6 percent).

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association; Powered by Ellie Mae's AllRegs Market Clarity

The Conventional, Government, Conforming, and Jumbo MCAIs are constructed using the same methodology as the Total MCAI and are designed to show relative credit risk/availability for their respective index. The primary difference between the total MCAI and the Component Indices are the population of loan programs which they examine.

The Government MCAI examines FHA/VA/USDA loan programs, while the Conventional MCAI examines non-government loan programs. The Jumbo and Conforming MCAIs are a subset of the conventional MCAI and do not include FHA, VA, or USDA loan offerings. The Jumbo MCAI examines conventional programs outside conforming loan limits while the Conforming MCAI examines conventional loan programs that fall under conforming loan limits.

The Conforming and Jumbo indices have the same "base levels" as the Total MCAI (March 2012=100), while the Conventional and Government indices have adjusted "base levels" in March 2012. MBA calibrated the Conventional and Government indices to better represent where each index might fall in March 2012 (the "base period") relative to the Total=100 benchmark.