Homebuyer
affordability
declined
in
March
as

mortgage
rates
and

home
prices
remained
elevated. 

The
national
median
monthly
payment
for
purchase
mortgage
applicants
rose
to
$2,201
in
March,
up
from
$2,184
in
February.
That’s
according
to
the


Mortgage
Bankers
Association‘s
(MBA)
purchase
applications
payment
index,
which
measures
how
new
monthly
mortgage
payments
vary
across
time
relative
to
income.

An
increase
in
the
MBA
index
—
indicative
of
declining
borrower
affordability
conditions
—means
that
the
mortgage-payment-to-income
ratio
is
higher
due
to
increasing
loan
amounts,
rising
mortgage
rates
or
a
decrease
in
applicant
earnings. 

The
national
index
increased
0.8%
to
174.2
in
March,
up
from
172.8
in
February.
The
index
is
benchmarked
to
100
in
March
2012. 

“Homebuyer
affordability
conditions
remain
volatile
as
recent
economic
data
continues
to
show
that
the
economy
and

job
market
are
strong.
These
factors
will
keep
mortgage
rates
at
elevated
levels
for
the
near
future,
sidelining
some
prospective
buyers
from
entering
the
housing
market,”
Edward
Seiler,
MBA’s
associate
vice
president
of
housing
economics
and
executive
director
of
the

Research
Institute
for
Housing
America,
said
in
a
statement. 

“While
rates
remain
elevated
and

housing
supply
is
low,
we
do
expect
to
see
renewed
activity
as
mortgage
rates
decline
to
low-to-mid
6
percent
range
by
the
end
of
the
year.”

The
national
median
monthly
mortgage
payment
rose
$17
from
February
to
March.
It
is
up
by
$108
from
one
year
ago,
representing
a
5.2%
increase.
Meanwhile,
the
national
median
monthly payment
for
conventional
loan
applicants
was
$2,222,
up
from
$2,194
in
February
and
up
from
$2,145
in
March
2023.

Borrower
affordability
conditions
worsened
the
most
in
Nevada,
Idaho,
Arizona,
Florida
and
Washington.
These
five
states
posted
the
highest
purchase
applications
payment
index
readings
of
261.5,
256.9,
229.9,
219.1
and
218.2,
respectively. 

Meanwhile,
Connecticut,
Louisiana,
Alaska,
Washington,
D.C.,
and
New
York
posted
better
borrowing
conditions
last
month,
as
illustrated
by
lower
scores
on
the
purchase
applications
payment
index.

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