August New Home Mortgage Applications Increased 20.6 Percent

The Mortgage Bankers Association has found that mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 20.6 percent in August compared to one year ago. Compared to July 2023, applications increased by 4 percent.

MBA estimates new single-family home sales were up an estimated 3.7 percent last month.

“There was strong purchase demand in August for newly constructed homes, as existing for-sale inventory remains low with most homeowners locked into lower mortgage rates and unwilling to give those rates up in this higher rate market,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Despite the 30-year fixed rate averaging over 7 percent in August, applications for new home purchase loans increased over the month and from a year ago.

“The FHA share of applications dipped slightly in August but remains close to survey highs, indicating that a larger share of first-time homebuyers is supporting the new home sales market,” added Kan. “Our estimate of new home sales showed a 4 percent increase to the strongest pace of sales in three months at 702,000 units.”