Mortgage applications for new home purchases dipped by 9% relative to the previous month, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Builder Application Survey for May 2015 showed.  

This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns.

The Builder Application Survey tracks application volume from mortgage subsidiaries of homebuilders across the country. 

Broken up by product type, conventional loans composed 67.4% of loan applications, Federal Housing Administration loans composed 19.1%, RHS/USDA loans composed 1.2% and VA loans composed 12.3%.

“Mortgage applications to homebuilders declined in May following an improved start to the year. Consistent with the intent to complete new homes in time for the school year, applications fell at a similar rate between April and May last year. That said, application volume is 15% percent ahead of the same month last year,” said Lynn Fisher, MBA’s vice president of Research and Economics.

Furthermore, the average loan size of new homes increased from $315,670 in April to $320,744 in May.

The MBA estimates new single-family home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 459,000 units in May 2015.

When seasonally adjusted, the estimate for May is a decrease of 5.7% from the April pace of 487,000 units.

On an unadjusted basis, the MBA estimates that there were 45,000 new home sales in May 2015, a decrease of 6.3% from 48,000 new home sales in April.