MBA Data Points to Decline in December New Home Sales

The latest builder application data from the ""Mortgage Bankers Association"":http://mba.org/default.htm (MBA) suggest new home sales numbers came in below average for December.

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MBA's latest ""Builder Application Survey"":http://mba.org/NewsandMedia/PressCenter/86809.htm, a measure of application volume from mortgage subsidiaries of homebuilders, shows applications for new home purchases dropped 11 percent from November to December (unadjusted).

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Using information from the survey as well as assumptions regarding market coverage and other factors, the group estimates that sales of new single-family homes ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 402,000 in December. Unadjusted, MBA estimates the month saw 28,000 new home sales.

The Census Bureau's data on new home sales in December is scheduled for release on January 27.

By product type, conventional loans made up 63.0 percent of new home loan applications in December. Applications for loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) accounted for 19.2 percent, while applications for loans backed by rural housing agencies accounted for 0.9 percent. Loan applications for mortgages backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) composed 16.9 percent of December's volume.

The average loan size for new homes increased in December, rising nearly $5,000 to $300,444, MBA estimates.