US New-Home Purchase Mortgage Applications Increase in December

On Thursday, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported that mortgage applications for new-home purchases increased 2.5% in December 2025, according to data from its Builder Application Survey. Applications were down 3.0% 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 640,000 units in December, down 15.2% from the November pace of 755,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, MBA estimates there were 50,000 new-home sales, a 2.0% decline from 51,000 in November.

By product type, conventional loans accounted for 50.5% of applications, FHA loans for 34.7%, VA loans for 13.8%, and RHS/USDA loans for 0.9%. The average loan size for new homes increased to $380,607, up from $378,063 in November.

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

“December purchase activity for newly built homes continued to run stronger than last year, despite cooling slightly from the prior month. New homes remain a viable option for many homebuyers given that there is a relatively large number of new homes available for sale, which has prompted incentives and price reductions from builders in some markets. The annualized sales pace dropped to 640,000 units in December, the slowest sales pace since May, but that was still almost 7% higher than last year’s pace. In our latest forecast, we expect new home sales in 2026 will increase gradually as mortgage rates stay close to current levels and sales price growth remains muted, given the excess inventory. MBA’s new home sales estimate continues to lead results from the Census Bureau, which currently only has data published through October due to delays stemming from the recent government shutdown.”