Skip to main content

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

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
Published
Mar 14, 2017
FHA To Lay Off 40% Of Workforce

Mass terminations across the federal government expected to hit federal mortgage insurer

Feb 18, 2025
Mass Firings At CFPB Imminent, Filing Says

Unions representing CFPB employees said 95% of the Bureau's workforce could be cut by the weekend

Feb 14, 2025
Realty Fees On The Rebound

Real estate commissions are trending back up, post-NAR settlement.

Feb 13, 2025
Wire Fraud Losses Are Mounting

First-time homebuyers are especially at risk for wire fraud, report finds.

Feb 13, 2025
HUD Secretary Halts Equal Access Rule Enforcement

HUD to be transformed 'in His own image'

Feb 10, 2025
Rocket's All-American Return To The Super Bowl

The company spends millions to remind Americans of "the meaning of home."

Feb 10, 2025