US New-Home Purchase Mortgage Applications Decrease in April

On Tuesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported that mortgage applications for new-home purchases fell 2.4% in April, according to data from its Builder Application Survey. Applications were down 10.0% year-over-year. Changes are not seasonally adjusted.

MBA estimates new single-family home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 655,000 units in April, an 8.6% decrease from the March pace of 717,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, MBA estimates that there were 60,000 sales in April, a 13.0% decrease from 69,000 in March.

By product type, conventional loans accounted for 49.5% of applications, FHA loans 35.7%, VA loans 13.7%, and RHS/USDA loans 1.1%. The average loan size decreased from $381,938 in March to $378,384 in April.

Commenting on the report, MBA Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist Joel Kan said:

“Ongoing economic uncertainty and higher mortgage rates contributed to lower purchase activity for newly built homes in April. Applications to purchase new homes fell below last year’s pace, the first year-over-year decline since October 2025. The estimated pace of new home sales was down over the month and from a year ago, slowing to 655,000 units. Given the high levels of unsold inventory available in many markets, MBA expects purchase activity to pick up in the coming months as upward price pressures continue to fade. FHA, VA, and USDA applications accounted for a little over half of all applications in April, as many borrowers continued to rely on government programs to help with affordability.”