MBA: September New Home Purchase Mortgage Applications Increased 2%
(Image courtesy of MBA)
The Mortgage Bankers Association Builder Application Survey data for September 2025 shows mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 2% compared from a year ago. Compared to August 2025, applications decreased by 5%. This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns.
“MBA’s estimate of new home sales for September showed a 7% decline to an annual pace of 680,000 units after reaching a 10-month high in August. Given the current delay of the U.S. Census new home sales release due to the ongoing government shutdown, MBA’s estimate, provides a leading indicator of the direction of the new home sales market for September,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Purchase activity for new homes continued to run ahead of last year’s pace, showing a 2% annual increase. Applications were down over the month, but were consistent with typical seasonal patterns for September. Despite more inventory, builder incentives, and lower mortgage rates, near-term demand is slowing as the labor market weakens.”
MBA estimates new single-family home sales, which has consistently been a leading indicator of the U.S. Census Bureau’s New Residential Sales report, is that new single-family home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 680,000 units in September 2025. 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 seasonally adjusted estimate for September is a decrease of 6.8% from the August pace of 730,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, MBA estimates that there were 54,000 new home sales in September 2025, a decrease of 3.6% from 56,000 new home sales in August.
By product type, conventional loans composed 52.5% of loan applications, FHA loans composed 33.8%, RHS/USDA loans composed 1% and VA loans composed 12.6% . The average loan size for new homes increased from $374,288 in August to $379,107 in September.
MBA’s Builder Application Survey tracks application volume from mortgage subsidiaries of home builders across the country. Utilizing this data, as well as data from other sources, MBA is able to provide an early estimate of new home sales volumes at the national, state, and metro level. This data also provides information regarding the types of loans used by new home buyers. Official new home sales estimates are conducted by the Census Bureau on a monthly basis. In that 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, please click here.
