New home mortgage applications rose 5.3% nationwide in April 2025 from last year, hitting the highest level since 2012, signaling stronger new home sales.

WASHINGTON – The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Builder Application Survey (BAS) data for April 2025 shows mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 5.3% compared from a year ago. Compared to March 2025, applications increased by 2%. This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns.

"Despite the ongoing economic uncertainty and mortgage rate volatility, April was a strong month for new home purchase activity, with applications posting an annual gain for the second straight month," said Joel Kan, MBA's Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. "The applications index reached its highest level in the survey's history dating back to 2012. Additionally, MBA's estimate of new home sales also increased over the month to a 718,000 seasonally adjusted annualized pace, its strongest pace since October 2024. As the unsold inventory of new homes continues to grow in many parts of the country, reduced buyer competition and pricing pressures supported more buying activity over the month."

MBA estimates new single-family home sales, which has consistently been a leading indicator of the U.S. Census Bureau's New Residential Sales report, is that new single-family home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 718,000 units in April 2025. 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 April is an increase of 14.1% from the March pace of 629,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, MBA estimates that there were 65,000 new home sales in April 2025, an increase of 6.6% from 61,000 new home sales in March.

By product type, conventional loans composed 46.4% of loan applications, FHA loans composed 39.2% , RHS/USDA loans composed 0.9% and VA loans composed 13.5%. The average loan size for new homes decreased from $381,921 in March to $376,992 in April.

MBA's Builder Application Survey tracks application volume from mortgage subsidiaries of home builders across the country. Utilizing this data, as well as data from other sources, MBA is able to provide an early estimate of new home sales volumes at the national, state, and metro level. This data also provides information regarding the types of loans used by new home buyers. Official new home sales estimates are conducted by the Census Bureau on a monthly basis. In that data, new home sales are recorded at contract signing, which is typically coincident with the mortgage application.

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association

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