Mortgage Applications Up in November

Last month was a go-go period for eager home buyers compared to the same time last year. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Builder Applications Survey data for November found mortgage applications for new home purchases increased by 12 percent on a year-over-year basis. Compared to October, however, the level of applications decreased by three percent relative.

The MBA estimated new single-family home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 588,000 units in November. The seasonally adjusted estimate for November is an increase of 7.5 percent from the October pace of 547,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, however, the MBA estimated that there were 41,000 new home sales in November, a decrease of 6.8 percent from 44,000 new home sales in October. The average loan size of new homes decreased from $329,634 in October to $329,389 in November.

Nonetheless, the MBA emphasized the year-over-year progress in this area. “Mortgage applications for new homes continued to grow on a year over year basis in November, driven by continued improvement in the overall economy and job growth,” said Lynn Fisher, MBA’s vice president of research and economics. “Despite the fact that overall home prices have increased at a greater than five percent annualized rate, the growth in average loan size for new homes has slowed, increasing three percent in November to $329,400 from a year ago and up just one percent since January.”