Mortgage applications in February dropped 6.9 percent compared February 2024, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Builder Application Survey data.
The survey tracks application volume from home builders’ mortgage subsidiaries. The MBA takes survey results and data from other sources to estimate new home sales volumes at the national, state, and metro level. The survey also provides information regarding the type of loans.
“New home purchase activity strengthened in February, in line with seasonal patterns, as higher housing inventory and declining rates supported growth,” Joel Kan, MBA vice president and deputy chief economist, said. “However, applications to purchase newly built homes were lower than a year ago for the second straight month. The FHA share of applications reached its highest share in the survey, accounting for almost a third of applications. The average loan size declined, indicating that first-time homebuyers remain active in the new home purchase market.”
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.
Survey results do not include typical seasonal patterns. The MBA estimates new single-family home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 634,000 units in February.