A borrower’s ability to get a loan depends on a number of different things. Their financial situation, income, and savings play a big role, of course. Lending standards and the number of available loan programs do too. That means there are times when it’s easier to obtain a mortgage and others when it’s more difficult. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s tracks this each month with their Mortgage Credit Availability Index. When the index increases, it indicates that mortgage credit has become more available. When it falls, credit has gotten tighter. In April, the MBA found credit loosened, though the improvement was slight. Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, says credit has stabilized, but at a low level. “Mortgage credit availability was little changed in April, with credit categories such as conventional, conforming, and jumbo seeing very small monthly gains,” Kan said. “The supply of credit has stabilized, expanding slightly over the past four months but remaining close to 2012 lows.” (source)