Mortgage payments ease in August, but the relief runs thin
“Homebuyer affordability improved slightly in August, as a decline in the median purchase loan amount helped offset the impact of higher mortgage rates,” said Edward Seiler, MBA’s associate vice president of housing economics and executive director of the Research Institute for Housing America (RIHA).
He added a caveat: “However, conditions remain challenging, with 27 states seeing affordability decline in August.”
FHA borrowers see the largest monthly payment cut
The relief was uneven across loan types. The median payment for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) applicants dropped $45 to $1,856, which is below the $1,863 recorded a year earlier.
Conventional applicants moved the other way. Their median payment edged up to $2,188, from $2,184 in July and $2,112 in August 2025.
Borrowers at the lower end of the market, the 25th percentile, saw payments fall to $1,492 from $1,512. New construction offered no such break. MBA’s Builders’ Purchase Application Payment Index showed the median payment on newly built homes rising to $2,214 from $2,210.
