Mortgage applications for new home purchases rose 2% from a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association Builder Application Survey data for January.
Compared to December 2025, applications increased by 19 percent, the MBA noted. The change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns.
“New home purchase activity strengthened in January, as both mortgage applications and new home sales saw gains,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “This increase was consistent with single-family housing starts finishing 2025 at a stronger pace even as permitting stayed relatively flat. MBA’s January estimated sales pace for newly built homes rebounded slightly from December to a pace of 663,000 units as buyers continue to use builder concessions and ARM loans. The average loan size of a purchase application was $385,506, the highest in 11 months.”
Single-Family Home Sales
MBA estimates new single-family home sales, which has consistently been a leading indicator of the U.S. Census Bureau’s New Residential Sales report, is that new single-family home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 663,000 units in January. That estimate is derived using mortgage application information from the BAS, as well as assumptions regarding market coverage and other factors, the MBA said.
The seasonally adjusted estimate for January is an increase of 3.6% from the December pace of 640,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, MBA estimates that there were 58,000 new home sales in January 2026, an increase of 16% from 50,000 new home sales in December.
The association said that by product type, conventional loans composed 48.9% of loan applications, FHA loans composed 34.9%, RHS/USDA loans composed 1.3% and VA loans composed 14.8%. It said the average loan size for new homes increased from $380,607 in December to $385,506 in January.
MBA said the Builder Application Survey tracks application volume from mortgage subsidiaries of home builders across the country.
With this data, as well as data from other sources, MBA provides an early estimate of new home sales volumes at the national, state, and metro level. The data also provides information regarding the types of loans used by new home buyers.
MBA said that official new home sales estimates are conducted by the Census Bureau on a monthly basis.
The post January Data Suggests Early-Year Lift for New Construction first appeared on The MortgagePoint.
