MBA: March New Home Purchase Applications Up 19%
Mortgage applications for new home purchases in March jumped by 19 percent from February and by 7 percent from a year ago, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported this morning.
The MBA Builder Applications Survey said by product type, conventional loans composed 68.7 percent of loan applications, FHA loans composed 18.8 percent, RHS/USDA loans composed 0.5 percent and VA loans composed 12 percent. The average loan size of new homes decreased from $340,692 in February to $331,794 in March.
These changes do not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns.
“With a strong job market, rising wages and lower mortgage rates, housing demand remains strong, as shown by the solid 7 percent growth in new home purchase applications in March,” said MBA Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni. “The confluence of declining mortgage rates with the spring buying season is supporting stronger housing demand and activity. Additionally, the drop in average loan size suggests that builders are tilting production to lower-priced homes, which continues to see the tightest inventories and strongest home-price growth.”
MBA estimated new single-family home sales at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 676,000 units in March, a decrease of 2 percent from February (690,000 units). On an unadjusted basis, MBA estimated 66,000 new home sales in March, an increase of 11.9 percent from 59,000 new home sales in February.
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 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 Applications 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/research-and-economics/single-family-research/builder-applications-survey.
