New Home Mortgage Applications in U.S. Decrease 7.5 Percent Annually

---

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the Mortgage Bankers Association Builder Applications Survey data for September 2017 shows mortgage applications for new home purchases in the U.S. decreased 7.5 percent compared to September 2016. Compared to August 2017, applications decreased by 20 percent relative to the previous month. This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns.

"Applications for new home purchases were down year over year in large part due the impacts of hurricane activity," said Lynn Fisher, MBA's Vice President of Research and Economics. "In particular monthly applications fell by 37 percent in Florida and 11 percent in Texas, which account for a large share of the applications in the survey."

By product type, conventional loans composed 72.3 percent of loan applications, FHA loans composed 13.9 percent, RHS/USDA loans composed 1.0 percent and VA loans composed 12.7 percent. The average loan size of new homes decreased from $334,940 in August to $334,722 in September.

The MBA estimates new single-family home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 571,000 units in September 2017, 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 September is a decrease of 12.8 percent from the August pace of 655,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, the MBA estimates that there were 42,000 new home sales in September 2017, a decrease of 19.2 percent from 52,000 new home sales in August.