Survey: New Home Applications in 2016 Show Promise

RISMEDIA, Wednesday, January 18, 2017— New single-family home mortgage applications increased every month of 2016—a barometer of single-family starts in the coming year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Builder Applications Survey (BAS). New single-family mortgage applications increased 2 percent from December 2015 to December 2016, indicating approximately a 10 percent growth in single-family starts in 2017. "Mortgage applications for new single-family homes increased on a year-over-year basis in every month of 2016, with December displaying the thinnest margin over 2015," says Lynn Fisher, MBA's vice president of Research and Economics. "However, growth in applications set a high benchmark in December 2015, and it is not yet clear if the recent rise in interest rates is having an impact on applications for new homes. Looking forward to 2017, MBA continues to forecast more than 10 percent growth in single family housing starts." Conventional loans comprised 67.5 percent of new single-family mortgage applications in December, while FHA loans comprised 18.5 percent, RHS/USDA loans comprised 0.9 percent, and VA loans comprised 13.1 percent. On average, the loan size for new single-family homes increased to $331,354 in December from $329,389 in November. New single-family home sales came in at 478,000 units in December, according to the survey, an approximate 19 percent decrease from November's 588,000. Source: Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)