With purchase mortgage loan application volume for existing homes on the decline, application volume for new home loan purchases in the U.S. dropped 12 percent from August to September and the pace of new home sales dropped to its lowest rate in a year, according to application data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, with inventory levels having ticked up and now 34 percent higher than prior to the pandemic, despite continued misreporting of “record low inventory levels” in the press.
At the same time, the average loan size for a new home in the U.S. continues to inch down, from $398,092 in August to $397,550 in September, which was 2.3 percent lower than at the same time last year ($406,767) despite the “relatively strong” demand.