WASHINGTON–Mortgage applications for new home purchases decreased 7.5% compared to September 2016.
Compared to August 2017, applications decreased by 20% relative to the previous month, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association Builder Applications Survey for September.
"Applications for new home purchases were down year over year in large part due the impacts of hurricane activity," said Lynn Fisher, MBA's vice president of research and economics, in a statement. "In particular, monthly applications fell by 37% in Florida and 11% in Texas, which account for a large share of the applications in the survey."
By product type, conventional loans comprised 72.3% of loan applications, FHA loans comprised 13.9%, RHS/USDA loans comprised 1.0% and VA loans comprised 12.7%, the MBA said.
The average loan size of new homes decreased from $334,940 in August to $334,722 in September.
The MBA said it estimates new single-family home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 571,000 units in September 2017, based on data from the BAS. The new home sales estimate is derived using mortgage application information from the BAS, as well as assumptions regarding market coverage and other factors.
The seasonally adjusted estimate for September is a decrease of 12.8% from the August pace of 655,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, the MBA said it estimates that there were 42,000 new home sales in September 2017, a decrease of 19.2% from 52,000 new home sales in August.
Meanwhile, mortgage rates rose again and are getting closer to edging closer to the psychologically important 4% mark, according to the Primary Mortgage Market Survey from Freddie Mac.
“The 30-year mortgage rate increased for a second consecutive week, jumping six basis points to 3.91%,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sean Becketti said in a statement.
The Freddie Mac data also show the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to an average 3.91% for the week ending Oct. 12, up from 3.85% one week earlier.