In a sign of unchanging homebuying affordability, the median mortgage payment by purchase applicants in the U.S. was $2,205 in February. That is the exact same mark as January, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
The MBA’s Purchase Applications Payment Index (PAPI) — which considers loan application amounts, mortgage rates and homebuyer earnings — ticked up a miniscule 0.1% month over month to 166.2 in February. An increase in the PAPI metric indicates declining borrower affordability.
“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,” Edward Seiler, the MBA’s associate vice president of housing economics, said in a press release.
Seiler added: “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.”
On a year-over-year basis, the PAPI index was down 3.8%, indicating improving affordability. While median mortgage payments were up 1.0% annually in February, median earnings increased 5.0% over the past 12 months, according to the MBA.
