Homebuyer affordability remained steady in February, with the median mortgage payment for purchase applicants holding at $2,205. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Purchase Applications Payment Index (PAPI), which tracks mortgage payments relative to income, increased slightly by 0.1% from January to February. However, due to a 5% rise in median earnings over the past year, the PAPI has actually declined by 3.8% annually. Meanwhile, for borrowers seeking lower-payment mortgages, the average monthly payment dropped slightly from $1,519 in January to $1,506 in February.
“Homebuyer affordability conditions remained unchanged in February as many homebuyers continue to weigh their options on entering the housing market amid economic uncertainty and slowly declining mortgage rates,” said Edward Seiler, MBA’s Associate Vice President, Housing Economics, and Executive Director, Research Institute for Housing America. “While February’s data reflects little movement, we do expect that rising housing inventory, coupled with lower mortgage rates, will spur additional activity in the housing market.” Read more