Mortgage Applications for New Home Purchases Up 16 Percent

Mar 14, 2017

Mortgage applications for new home purchases increased from January to February by 16 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Builder Application Survey (BAS). On a year-over-year measurement, applications were up 2.2 percent.

The MBA estimated new single-family home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 586,000 units last month, a 4.3 percent increase from the January pace of 562,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, the MBA estimated that there were 51,000 new home sales in February, a 15.9 percent upswing from 44,000 new home sales in January. Conventional loans accounted for 66.5 percent of loan applications, while FHA loans composed 18.6 percent of total applications last month.

“The Builder Application Index posted a modest annual gain in February 2017,” said Lynn Fisher, MBA’s vice president of research and economics. “The bar was high as last February was a particularly strong month for applications, as was March 2016. The surprisingly strong employment numbers for the beginning of 2017 suggest that demand for new homes should continue to grow this year. Additionally, based on the current reading, we expect seasonally adjusted new home sales to be up by about eight percent in February compared to a year ago.”

About the author

Phil Hall

Link copied

Published

Mar 14, 2017

C-Suite Strategies

Better Says It Fired Vishal Garg After He Moves To Oust Board

Founder claims majority shareholder support; company blames him for its delayed 10-Q and raises possible securities-law concerns

Better Home & Finance Holding Company said Friday that it terminated founder Vishal Garg as CEO and accused him of delaying the company’s quarterly filing, sharply escalating a dispute over control of the mortgage lender one day after Garg demanded that five directors re...

Analysis and Data

Figure Says Partners More Than Doubled HELOC Volume On Its Platform

Consumer loan marketplace volume reached $4.3 billion as Figure Connect drove more production off the company’s balance sheet and helped lift adjusted margins to a record 55%

Figure Technology Solutions said mortgage partners using its platform generated substantially more home equity lending volume than their previous production would have predicted, adding an originator-level measure to a quarter marked by rapid marketplace growth and record pr...

Nov

Pasadena, CA

More from

Industry News

July CPI Eases Mortgage-Rate Risk, But Doesn’t Promise Relief

Consumer inflation rose just 0.1% in July, reducing pressure for a September Fed rate hike as mortgage rates remain near their highest levels of the year

Industry News

Aug 13, 2026

The Fed Held. The Mortgage Market Got A Warning.

Three policymakers favored an immediate hike, while Warsh welcomed higher bond yields and offered no clear path toward mortgage-rate relief

Industry News

Jul 30, 2026

New Study Finds UWM's 'All-In' Triggered Industrywide Pricing Spillovers

Research shows wholesale competitors responded to the 2021 Rocket ban by lowering mortgage rates,

Industry News

Jul 15, 2026

First Major Housing Reform In Decades Becomes Law Without Trump's Signature

Bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act advances supply, construction, and mortgage reforms despite White House protest