Mortgage applications for new home purchases in November increased 7.2% compared to the same month in 2023, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Builder Application Survey (BAS). Compared to October 2024, applications decreased by 12%.
“Applications to purchase newly built homes have seen annual increases since February 2023, as prospective home buyers continue to favor new homes, given affordability challenges and constrained existing inventory,” Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, says. “The decline in applications from the previous month was roughly in line with typical seasonal patterns at the end of the year.”
MBA’s estimate of new single-family home sales for November was a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 713,000 units. The seasonally adjusted estimate for November is a decrease of 4.6% from October. On an unadjusted basis, MBA estimates there were 49,000 new home sales in November 2024, a decrease of 12.5% from 56,000 new home sales in October.
“The FHA share of applications at 28%, continues to show that first-time home buyers account for a significant share of new home demand,” Kan says. “Additionally, the 713,000 unit seasonally adjusted annual pace of new home sales was the third strongest month of 2024.”
Conventional loans composed 61.6% of loan applications, FHA loans composed 28.0%, and VA loans composed 9.9%. The average loan size for new homes decreased to $402,873 in November from $409,942 in October.
