Mortgage lending eased a bit in June, with credit becoming more widely available when compared to recent years, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

An uptick in jumbo, investor and higher LTV loans eased some of the slack.

According to the MBA’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index report, which analyzes data from AllRegs Market Clarity product, the MCAI ticked up to an index score of 109.8 last month, growing almost 1% from 108.9 in May.

The index evaluates credit scores, loan types and loan-to-value ratios to compute the score.

The May figure is well above the benchmark score of 100. Higher index values suggest credit is loosening and lending is less strict, while lower values are indicative of tightening standards.

Although mortgage credit availability increased from May to June, it trended relatively lower throughout 2012 and is close to levels seen in 2011, when the MBA first started releasing the index.

“The increase to the MCAI was primarily driven by a small uptick in the number of products which offer a cash-out feature. There were also small increases in the number of jumbo, investor, and higher LTV offerings,” the MBA added.

bswanson@housingwire.com