Data from the ""Mortgage Bankers Association"":http://mbaa.org/default.htm (MBA) for August shows mortgage applications for new home purchases declined compared to July.
[IMAGE] [COLUMN_BREAK]According to MBA's monthly Builder Application Survey (BAS), loan applications for the purchase of new homes fell 14 percent month-over-month in August. The survey tracks application volume from mortgage subsidiaries home builders around the country. The change did not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns.
Conventional loans made up 67.8 percent of loan applications. Loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) made up 17.3 percent, loans through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) made up 13.9 percent, and rural development loans made up 1.0 percent.
Taking information from the BAS--as well as assumptions regarding market coverage and other factors--MBA estimates sales of new single-family homes ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 424,000 in August. Unadjusted, the group estimates there were 35,000 new home sales.
The average loan size for new homes was $284,392 in August, down from $288,382 in July.