Monthly payments for new purchase mortgages increased in April for the second consecutive month, as inflationary pressures from the Iran war pushed mortgage rates to levels last seen in October.

Newly released data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) shows the national median payment applied for by purchase applicants rose to $2,152 last month, an increase of $21 or just under 1% from $2,131 the previous month.

That puts new mortgage payments amounts about 4.4% higher than prewar levels in February, when average mortgage rates on typical 30-year home loans hovered around 6%. They spent April between 6.3% and 6.4%, according to MBA data.

“Housing affordability conditions weakened slightly in April, as mortgage rates edged higher and rising loan amounts pushed monthly payments up from March,” noted Edward Seiler, associate vice president of housing economics at the MBA, commenting on the association’s updated Payment Applications Payment Index (PAPI).

The index tracks how new monthly mortgage payments vary relative to income. Seiler noted that lower mortgage rates than a year ago and “continued income growth” have ultimately created more affordable conditions for borrowers than last April.

The national PAPI rose 0.3% to 156 in April from 155.5 in March. An increase in the index indicates declining borrower affordability over the month.

However, payments that remained 1.6% lower than a year ago, paired with annual earnings growth of about 4% over the year, pushed the PAPI lower — and mortgage affordability higher — by about 5.3% from a year ago.

“Looking ahead, continued income gains and some stabilization in mortgage rates could help support better affordability conditions,” added Seiler.

An associated MBA index updated Thursday, the Builders’ Purchase Application Payment Index (BPAPI), which tracks parallel payment measures across new-home purchase applications, proved an outlier to the broader monthly decline in mortgage affordability.

After the median new-home mortgage payment increased 2.45% to $2,210 in March, new mortgage payments for new builds retreated about 1% in April to $2,188.

The national median mortgage payment for borrowers seeking conventional loans underwritten to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines was $2,166, about 0.98% higher than $2,145 in March, but down about 1.8% from $2,206 last April.

The national median mortgage payment for borrowers seeking loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration was $1,829 in April, up roughly 0.93% from $1,812 in March. But that is approximately 3.5% lower than the $1,895 median for new FHA mortgage payments a year ago.

States with the highest PAPI readings in April, indicating markets with the worst relative mortgage affordability, were Idaho, Nevada, Rhode Island, Arizona and Tennessee. The lowest PAPI scores observed last month were in Louisiana, Hawaii, Washington, D.C., Connecticut and New York.