MBA: March New Home Purchase Mortgage Applications Increased 11%
The Mortgage Bankers Association Builder Application Survey for March 2026 shows mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 11% from a year ago. Compared to February 2026, applications increased by 26%. This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns.
“Applications for the purchase of newly built homes increased in March, posting monthly and annual gains, and reaching the highest index level since the survey’s inception in 2012,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “While the index is not adjusted for seasonality, March kicks off the start of spring homebuying season and does typically see an increase in purchase activity. Last month, mortgage rates rose and economic uncertainty increased, and our estimate of new home sales reached its highest level in four months. This growth was supported by higher levels of unsold inventory in many markets across the country, some of which were move-in ready and were relatively more appealing to homebuyers who were eager to purchase a home.”
Added Kan, “Government applications, which include FHA, VA, and USDA/RHS loans, accounted for more than half of applications received. This was the third consecutive month that the government share of applications was more than 50%. While mortgage rates overall increased in March, rates on FHA mortgages did not increase as quickly as for conforming loans, which supported some of the shift to government loans, as affordability remains a focus for many homebuyers.”
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 717,000 units in March 2026. 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 March is a increase of 11.9% from the February pace of 641,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, MBA estimates that there were 69,000 new home sales in March 2026, a increase of 21.1% from 57,000 new home sales in February.
By product type, conventional loans composed 49.1% of loan applications, FHA loans composed 36.3%, RHS/USDA loans composed 1.2% and VA loans composed 13.4%. The average loan size for new homes decreased from $383,570 in February to $381,938 in March.
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.
