Mortgage applications for new home purchases increased by 3 percent relative to the previous month, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Builder Application Survey (BAS) data for September 2015.

"Positive momentum in mortgage applications to homebuilder affiliates lead us to estimate that new home sales were up 29 percent in September compared to a year ago," says Lynn Fisher, MBA's Vice President of Research and Economics. "It also suggests that housing starts will continue to post relatively strong numbers through the end of the year."

By product type, conventional loans composed 67.7 percent of loan applications, FHA loans composed 19.2 percent, RHS/USDA loans composed 0.9 percent and VA loans composed 12.2 percent. The average loan size of new homes increased from $317,035 in August to $324,884 in September.

The MBA estimates new single-family home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 548,000 units in September 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 September is an increase of 4.6 percent from the August pace of 524,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, the MBA estimates that there were 42,000 new home sales in September 2015, an increase of 2.4 percent from 41,000 new home sales in August.

MBA's Builder Application Survey tracks application volume from mortgage subsidiaries of home builders across the country. Utilizing this data, as well as data from other sources, MBA is able to provide an early estimate of new home sales volumes at the national, state, and metro level. This data also provides information regarding the types of loans used by new home buyers. 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.

For more information, visit www.mba.org.