Applications for the purchase of newly constructed single-family homes rose 2 percent in July.  The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) based this estimate on responses to its Builder Application Survey (BAS) which polls representatives of mortgage subsidiaries of home builders nationwide.  The data is not seasonally adjusted.

Applications for conventional loans comprised 68.8 percent of the total in July and FHA loans 16.1 percent.  Veterans Administration (VA) loans accounted for 13.6 percent of applications and Rural Housing Service (USDA) loans for 1.5 percent.  The average loan size for which applications were received in July was $297,253, a slight increase from the June average of $296,078.

Based on BAS responses and data from other sources MBA estimates that new single-family home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000 units, an increase of 12.2 percent from the June estimate of 386,000 units.  On an unadjusted basis MBA estimates that 37,000 new homes were sold during the month, up 2.8 percent from the 36,000 sold in June.

Official new home sales estimates are conducted by the Census Bureau on a monthly basis.  In that data, new home sales are recorded at contract signing, which is typically coincident with the mortgage application.