MBA: New Home Applications Rise in January
Mortgage applications for new home purchases rose in January for the first time in four months, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported this morning.
The MBA Builder Application Survey said mortgage applications for new home purchases increased by 14 percent in January from December. The change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns.
By product type, conventional loans composed 67.4 percent of loan applications, FHA loans composed 19.5 percent, RHS/USDA loans composed 0.7 percent and VA loans composed 12.4 percent. The average loan size of new homes decreased from $333,182 in December to $325,806 in January.
MBA estimated new single-family home sales at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 499,000 units in January, a 4.0 percent increase from December (480,000). On an unadjusted basis, MBA estimates 38,000 new home sales in January, an increase of 11.8 percent from 34,000 in December.
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.
