Us mortgage applications edge higher

US mortgage applications for new home purchases increased by 1 per cent month-on-month in June, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association,

"Application activity in June was slightly higher compared to the past two years, leading us to estimate that new homes sales increased 8 per cent from May on a seasonally adjusted annual basis," comments Lynn Fisher, MBA's Vice President of Research and Economics.

By product type, conventional loans composed 67.2 per cent of loan applications, FHA loans composed 19.6 per cent, RHS/USDA loans composed 1 per cent and VA loans composed 12.2 per cent. The average loan size of new homes increased from $320,744 in May to $321,678 in June.

The MBA estimates new single-family home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 496,000 units in June 2015, based on data from the BAS. The new home sales estimate is derived using mortgage application information from the BAS, as well as assumptions regarding market coverage and other factors.

The seasonally adjusted estimate for June is an increase of 8.1 per cent from the May pace of 459,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, the MBA estimates that there were 45,000 new home sales in June 2015, unchanged from May.