New home purchase applications down 5.7% annually in July

Mortgage applications for new home purchases saw a 5.7% decrease in July compared to the same month last year, and a 1% drop from June, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Builder Application Survey. The MBA estimates that new single-family home sales occurred at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 647,000 units in July, which is a 3% decline from June's pace. This marks the third decrease in the annualized sales rate over the past four months. Joel Kan, MBA vice president and deputy chief economist, cited elevated new home inventory and higher mortgage rates as likely contributors to the reduced buyer demand. Conventional loans constituted 50% of applications, followed by FHA loans at 34.6%, VA loans at 13.6%, and USDA loans at 1.8%. The average loan size for a new home in July was $374,438, a slight decrease from June's $375,218.