2. Mortgage Credit The Mortgage Credit Availability Index is a monthly measure by the Mortgage Bankers Association that gauges the level of difficulty to secure a loan. The higher the index, the easier it is to get a loan; the lower the index, the harder. Today we’re nowhere near the levels seen before the housing crash when it was very easy to get approved for a mortgage. After the crash, however, lending standards tightened and have remained that way ever since.
Housing Bubble 858.7
Historic Data for the MORTGAGE CREDIT AVAILABILITY INDEX (a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association)
900
800
700
600
500
400
Today 133.5
300
200
100
0
June '04 June '05 June '06 June '07 June '08 June '09 June '10 June '11 June '12 June '13 June '14 June '15 June '16 June '17 June '18 June '19 Today
MBA
3. Number of Homes for Sale One of the causes of the housing crash in 2008 was an oversupply of homes for sale. Today, as shown in the next image, we see a much different picture. We don’t have enough homes on the market for the number of people who want to buy them. Across the country, we have less than 6 months of inventory – an undersupply of homes available for buyers.
Months Inventory of Homes for Sale
13.0
2010
12.0
2008
Buyer’s Market (> 7 Months)
11.0
2007
10.0
9.0
8.0
2006
7.0
Neutral Market (6 – 7 Months)
6.0
5.0
Today
Seller’s Market (< 6 Months)
4.0
3.0
2.0
4
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