New Home Mortgage Applications Dip 6 Percent in U.S.

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Builder Application Survey for November 2015, mortgage applications for new home purchases decreased by 6 percent relative to the previous month. This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns.

"This is a very good result considering the time of year.  On a seasonally adjusted basis, we estimate that there were 524,000 new home sales in November, up 5.9 percent from our October estimate of 495,000, and up 31 percent from November a year ago.  The BAS Index also reached its highest November reading since the index began in 2012," said Lynn Fisher, MBA's Vice President of Research and Economics.

By product type, conventional loans composed 68.4 percent of loan applications, FHA loans composed 18.1 percent, RHS/USDA loans composed 0.9 percent and VA loans composed 12.6 percent. The average loan size of new homes decreased from $320,881 in October to $320,854 in November.

The MBA estimates new single-family home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 524,000 units in November 2015, based on data from the BAS. 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 November is an increase of 5.9 percent from the October pace of 495,000 units.  On an unadjusted basis, the MBA estimates that there were 37,000 new home sales in November 2015, a decrease of 5.1 percent from 39,000 new home sales in October.