Mortgage applications for new homes dropped in September while the expected number of cash transactions saw a rise
Mortgage applications for new homes dropped in September, according to data released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
MBA’s Builder Application Survey for September showed a 1% decrease in new-home loan applications from the previous month nationwide. The survey tracks application volume from mortgage subsidiaries of home builders, using the data to give an early estimate of new home sales volume.
Texas, Florida and California bucked September’s national downward trend, with new home loan apps showing month-over-month increases of 5.6%, 1.6% and 15.5%, respectively. New home loan apps increased year-over-year by 12.4% in Texas and 10.7% in Florida, but decreased by 5.1% in California, according to the survey.
New home sales ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 459,000 in September. On an unadjusted basis, there were about 36,000 new home sales that month, according to MBA’s estimates. An increase in the expected number of cash transactions bumped up new home sales during the month despite the decrease in mortgage applications, MBA reported.
