Builders Report Jump in Mortgage Purchase Applications

Home purchase applications jumped 11% in October on an unadjusted basis, following a 1% decline in the previous month, the MBA says in reporting the results of its monthly builder survey.

During a conference call on Tuesday, D.R. Horton executives noted that home sales slowed during the third quarter, but sales bounced back in October.

MBA economists estimate builders sold 40,000 new homes in October on an unadjusted basis, up from 36,000 in September. New home sales were running at a 509,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in October.

The last time the Census Bureau released its new home sales report was in August and sales were running at a 421,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate.

The Census Bureau is slated to release the September and October new home sales reports Dec. 4.