Mortgage credit availability rose slightly in October despite a surge in mortgage rates during the first half of the month, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said Tuesday.

The trade group’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), which tracks changes in credit underwriting conditions, rose 0.4% to 107.5 last month, reversing two consecutive months of declines in August and September.

Joel Kan, deputy chief economist of the MBA, noted in the monthly report “greater availability of conventional credit while the government segment remained flat over the month.”

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As of the first week of November, typical 30-year mortgage rates had eased about 20 basis points below their average of 7.4% over the first two weeks of October. Rates remain considerably higher than year-ago levels of about 6.3% in October, according to MBA data.

Using data from ICE Mortgage Technology, the MCAI assesses consumer access to mortgage financing based on criteria like credit scores and loan-to-value ratios relative to the loan programs actively offered by lenders. The index rises when lending conditions loosen and falls when they tighten.

The component index tracking access to conventional mortgage credit underwritten by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac increased 0.6%, offsetting a 0.4% decline the prior month.

Access to government mortgage credit rose just 0.1%. But the jumbo component of the conventional credit index jumped by 0.8% to its highest level in three months, Kan said.

Higher 30-year rates have created an affordability gap between typical fixed-rate loans and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) that lenders have taken advantage of over recent months.

As fixed rates for 30-year loans have risen above 7% since the end of the third quarter, rates for 5/1 ARMs — which carry a fixed rate for the first five years of the loan before adjusting once annually — have consistently been roughly one percentage point lower. The ARM share of weekly applications has sustained growth above 10% as a result.

“With current mortgage rates still elevated, lenders increased their offerings of ARM loans for lower LTV borrowers, including some that allow for cash-out refinancing,” Kan noted.