Last month, this blog reported that availability of mortgage credit, as benchmarked by the mortgage credit availability index set to 100 for March, 2012, had increased 0.5% month over month. It continues to set new records, hitting 126.1 in August (it was 116.4 for July when we previously reported). As with last month, the increases are chiefly led by availability in the jumbo mortgage market, so if you’re looking to buy big, now might well be the time. The upcoming jobs report is expected to tip the Feds hand one way or the other with a rate increase, but right now, credit availability is the best it’s been since June, 2011 — the extent of historical data.
