New-home purchase mortgage applications rose 1% month over month and 13.8% year over year in May, according to data released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The data is derived from the trade group’s survey of homebuilders. The MBA also estimated that sales of new single-family homes reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of [...]read moreNew homes remain in demand as mortgage applications rise in May
When single-family permit demand collapsed in 2022, we still had a healthy backlog of homes that needed to be finished. While that was happening, we also had 5-unit permits expand as well. Well, that isn’t the case anymore, as 5-unit permits are already at COVID-19 recession lows and now we have seen some softness in [...]read moreWhat the new home sales report shows about labor market risk
New-home sales cooled in April as the supply of existing homes increased and demand was hampered by high mortgage rates. New-home sales reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 634,000 in April, according to data published Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This figure represents [...]read moreNew-home sales stumble as existing inventory increases
As homebuyers continue to grapple with a lack of existing homes for sale, the market for new homes continues to see strong demand, and some areas of the country — including Sun Belt states — are producing new homes at a relatively rapid rate. A study released Thursday by fintech and personal finance website SmartAsset [...]read moreSun Belt cities lead the way for new home sales
New home sales have been one of the brighter housing stories since the home sales crash in 2022 — as we can see in the chart below, new home sales have been able to grow since then. This is one reason why the homebuilder stocks have done so well since November of 2022. The mistake [...]read moreNew home sales still growing from 2022 lows
Mortgage applications for new homes stalled in March as buyers felt the brunt of sustained home price growth. Compared to February 2024, mortgage applications for new-home purchases rose 1% in March. Applications were up 6.2% from March 2023, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Builder Application Survey. According to MBA estimates, new single-family home [...]read moreDemand stalled in March for new-home purchases: MBA
This has kept single-family permits from falling and kept construction workers employed to build and finish the backlog of single-family homes in the pipeline. We obviously can’t say that the apartment marketplace and permits are back to recession lows. So, for now, homebuilders can still keep construction workers employed in the single-family housing market as [...]read moreHomebuilders are still buying down rates to move houses