U.S. New Home Mortgage Applications Dip in August

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Builder Application Survey (BAS) data for August 2015, mortgage applications for new home purchases in the U.S. decreased by 6 percent relative to the previous month. This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns.

"As the summer winds down, mortgage applications for new homes saw a seasonally-driven decrease in August," said Lynn Fisher, MBA's Vice President of Research and Economics. "However, applications for new homes were still up 19 percent relative to the same month last year, which is consistent with what we've seen so far in 2015."

By product type, conventional loans composed 68.5 percent of loan applications, FHA loans composed 19.0 percent, RHS/USDA loans composed 0.9 percent and VA loans composed 11.6 percent. The average loan size of new homes increased from $316,995 in July to $317,035 in August.

The MBA estimates new single-family home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 524,000 units in August 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 August is a decrease of 1.9 percent from the July pace of 534,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, the MBA estimates that there were 41,000 new home sales in August 2015, a decrease of 6.8 percent from 44,000 new home sales in July.