US mortgage availability falls in June: MBA

[NEW YORK] Availability of US home loans fell in June as some investors stopped making certain type of adjustable-rate mortgages, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Monday.

The Washington-based group's mortgage credit available index fell 1.3 per cent to 119.8 last month.

A rise in the index suggests lending standards are tightening, while a decline signals lending standards are loosening.

"Credit availability decreased over the month driven primarily by a decrease in availability of conventional conforming loan offerings," said Lynn Fisher, MBA's vice president of research and economics in a statement.

A number of investors in particular discontinued their conventional high balance seven-year adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) programs but left their five-year and 10-year ARM programs unchanged, Ms Fisher said.

REUTERS