New home purchase mortgage applications in June and July were higher than the same months last year, according to data published in the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Builder Application Survey (BAS).
The July survey results showed a 6.8 percent increase in applications compared to the same month one year prior and a 7 percent increase than one month earlier. June BAS data indicated an 8.5 percent uptick year-over-year, but a 4 percent decline compared to May. These figures were calculated with no adjustment for typical seasonal patterns.
“Purchase activity for new homes strengthened in July as both mortgage applications and estimated new home sales reached their highest levels since April 2025,” MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist Joel Kan said in a press release. “Applications were boosted by borrowers looking to take advantage of slightly lower mortgage rates during the month and higher levels of newly built inventory. This likely helped to improve affordability, as many builders are still offering concessions to buyers. Additionally, the average loan size continued to trend lower.”
The rate of new single-family home sales was running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000 units in July. MBA noted the new home sales estimate tends to be a leading indicator of the U.S. Census Bureau’s New Residential Sales report. It is derived using mortgage application information from the BAS, as well as assumptions regarding market coverage and other factors.
The seasonally adjusted estimate for July is an increase of 2.7 percent from the June pace of 667,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, MBA estimated the total for new home sales in July was approximately 58,000, marking a 5.5 percent increase from 55,000 new home sales in June.
By product type, conventional loans composed 50.1 percent of all loan applications, loans secured by the Federal Housing Administration composed 35.3 percent, U.S. Department of Agriculture loans composed 1.2 percent of applications and Department of Veterans Affairs loans composed 13.4 percent. The average loan size for new homes declined from $376,077 in June to $372,745 in July.