September’s short-lived slide in interest rates delivered the best affordability conditions in more than a year and a half, with a middle-income household able to afford more homes in September than in any other month since February 2023.

That’s according to Zillow, which found that a household making the median income nationwide could have comfortably afforded 27.7% of homes for sale. For the purposes of its study, Zillow considered a home comfortably affordable is the estimated monthly principal and interest payment (assuming a 20% downpayment) costs no more than 30% of a household’s income.

Mortgage rates in September averaged 6.18%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. For context, in May, when mortgage rates averaged 7.06%, a household making the median U.S. income could have comfortably afforded just 22.7% of for-sale homes.

Rising mortgage rates in October made for-sale inventory less affordable in September, with 27.2% of listings comfortably affordable for the median income household. However, the share of listings affordable for a middle-income household was still larger than it was a year prior in all of the nation’s 50 largest metro areas. In both September and October, more than half of homes listed for sale were affordable in 12 of those large metros. In both months, Pittsburgh had the largest share of comfortably affordably homes among large metros at 73.1% in September and 72.1% in October.

As of the week ending Nov. 14, mortgage rates had risen to 6.78%, per Freddie Mac.

“Affordability remains the top challenge for first-time home buyers especially, and buying power can change quickly with the unpredictable nature of mortgage rates,” said Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist for Zillow Home Loans. “Buyers should expect more ups and downs ahead for mortgage rates. While there’s no guarantee, signs point to rates moving a bit lower into next year. However, the path will be bumpy, and buyers should stay ready to move forward when the time is right for them.”