MBA: September Applications for New Home Purchases Up
Mortgage Bankers Association Builder Application Survey data for September show mortgage applications for new home purchases increased by 3 percent from August.
The change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns.
“Positive momentum in mortgage applications to homebuilder affiliates lead us to estimate that new home sales were up 29 percent in September compared to a year ago.” said MBA Vice President of Research and Economics Lynn Fisher. “It also suggests that housing starts will continue to post relatively strong numbers through the end of the year.”
By product type, conventional loans composed 67.7 percent of loan applications, FHA loans composed 19.2 percent, RHS/USDA loans composed 0.9 percent and VA loans composed 12.2 percent. The average loan size of new homes increased from $317,035 in August to $324,884 in September.
MBA estimated new single-family home sales ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 548,000 units in September. The seasonally adjusted estimate for September is an increase of 4.6 percent from the August pace of 524,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, MBA estimated 42,000 new home sales in September, an increase of 2.4 percent from 41,000 in August.
The new home sales estimate is derived using mortgage application information from the BAS, as well as assumptions regarding market coverage and other factors.
The MBA Builder Application Survey tracks application volume from mortgage subsidiaries of home builders across the country. Using these data, as well as data from other sources, MBA provides an early estimate of new home sales volumes at the national, state and metro level. These data also provide information regarding types of loans used by new home buyers. Official new home sales estimates are conducted by the Census Bureau on a monthly basis. In those data, new home sales are recorded at contract signing, which is typically coincident with the mortgage application.
For additional information on MBA’s Builder Applications Survey, click https://www.mba.org/news-research-and-resources/forecasts-data-and-reports/single-family-research/servicing-operations-study-and-forum-for-prime-and-specialty-servicers-x75411.
