Payment For Typical New Mortgage Hits $2,060

Home affordability could improve from here, MBA economist at MBA says

By
Diccon Hyatt
Diccon Hyatt
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Diccon Hyatt is an experienced financial and economics reporter who has covered the pandemic-era economy in hundreds of stories over the past two years. He's written hundreds of stories breaking down complex financial topics in plainspoken language, emphasizing the impact that economic currents would have on individuals' finances and the market. He's also worked at The Balance, U.S. 1, Community News Service and the Middletown Transcript.
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Published March 24, 2023
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Affording a house just keeps getting harder.

That’s according to the Mortgage Bankers’ Association, which said the median monthly payment for mortgage applications rose to $2,061 for principal and interest in February from $1,964 in January, not counting things like property taxes and insurance. It was the highest in the 14 years that the MBA has been collecting the data. The measure, based on applications for 30-year fixed rate mortgages, is up $857, or 71%, since before the pandemic—a stark illustration of how expensive buying a home has become.

Another MBA measure of home affordability, which incorporates data on income to give an idea of how much of a typical income housing costs consume, also rose to its worst on record in February.

The upside: This may be as bad as it gets. Median home prices fell year-over-year for the first time in more than a decade, according to the National Association of Realtors. Mortgage rates have also dropped for two straight weeks amid concerns about the stability of the financial system, according to Freddie Mac, one of the government-sponsored companies that back the majority of the nation’s mortgages. 

“Given ongoing economic uncertainty and the likelihood of a recession, MBA expects mortgage rates to decline as this year progresses, which will help affordability,” Edward Seiler, MBA's associate vice president of housing economics, said in a statement.

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  1. Mortgage Bankers Association. "Purchase Applications Payment Index – Frequently Asked Questions."

  2. Mortgage Bankers Association. "Mortgage Application Payments Increased 4.9 Percent to $2,061 in February."

  3. Freddie Mac. "Mortgage Rates."

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