Mortgage applications for new home purchases rose 5.5% year over year in March and 14% from the prior month, according to builder application survey data released Friday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
The MBA estimated that 61,000 new single-family homes were sold in March, which is a 7% increase from February’s mark of 57,000.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the association estimated that 629,000 new single-family homes were sold last month, a decline of 0.8% from 634,000 units in February.
“Applications for new home purchases increased in March, consistent with typical seasonal patterns and supported by mortgage rates that had been drifting lower,” noted Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. “The growing inventory of newly built, move-in ready homes supported homebuyer interest over the month, pushing the index higher than last year’s levels. Our estimate of seasonally adjusted new home sales saw a slight decline in March but were stronger than last year’s pace of sales.”
The average loan size for new homes decreased to $381,921 in March from $397,516 the previous month, according to the MBA.
The association reported that conventional loans comprised 49% of applications in March, Federal Housing Administration loans made up 37% of the total and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs loans accounted for 13% of applications last month.
