MBA: August New Home Purchase Mortgage Applications Down
Mortgage applications for new home purchases fell by 2 percent in August from July and by 4.6 percent from a year ago, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported this morning.
The MBA Builder Applications Survey said by product type, conventional loans composed 71.4 percent of loan applications, FHA loans composed 15.6 percent, RHS/USDA loans composed 1.2 percent and VA loans composed 11.8 percent. The average loan size of new homes decreased from $337,775 in July to $332,801 in August.
Changes do not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns.
“Our seasonally-adjusted estimate of new home sales increased 5.0 percent over the month, the second straight monthly increase,” noted Joel Kan, MBA Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “Low inventory of homes for sale has been an issue this year, and newly constructed units have been one way to ease the shortage. Growth in August was focused in the lower price tiers. In fact, for the first time in four months, monthly growth was driven by the lower half of the market, based on application size.”
MBA estimated new single-family home sales at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 669,000 units in August, based on data from the BAS, an increase of 5 percent from the July pace of 637,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, MBA estimated 53,000 new home sales in August, unchanged from July. 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.
