Zillow Real Estate Research looked at how easy it is (or isn’t) to get a mortgage today compared to other points in time.
To do this, the company launched a new index called the Zillow Mortgage Access Index (ZMAI). The index peaked at 134.6 points in August 2004, meaning it was easy then for people to get loans. The index plummeted in 2010 to 9.6 points.
As of September 2014, the index reached 71.5 points.