A new report from the Mortgage Banker’s Association disclosed that homebuyer affordability declined in January, with the national median payment applied for by purchase applicants increasing to $2,070 from $2,025 in December.
That is according to the MBA’s Purchase Applications Payment Index (PAPI), which measures how new monthly mortgage payments vary across time – relative to income – using data from MBA’s Weekly Applications Survey (WAS).
“Housing affordability declined in January, with the national PAPI increasing for the first time in seven months and applicants’ median monthly payment up $45 compared to December,” said Edward Seiler, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Housing Economics and Executive Director of the Research Institute for Housing America. “While the median purchase application amount rose from $320,000 to $332,000, mortgage rates declined over the month. With mortgage rates mostly trending downward, and home-price growth flat or down in many markets, affordability conditions should improve in the months ahead as housing inventory increases.”
An increase in MBA’s PAPI – indicative of declining borrower affordability conditions – means that the mortgage payment to income ratio (PIR) is higher because of increasing application loan amounts, rising mortgage rates, or a decrease in earnings, MBA noted.
A decrease in the PAPI – indicative of improving borrower affordability conditions – occurs when loan application amounts decrease, mortgage rates decrease, or earnings increase.
National Mortgage Payment Rises
The national PAPI increased 1% to 150.3 in January from 148.8 in December. While payments fell 6.1%, earnings growth of 4% means that the PAPI is down (affordability is higher) 9.7% on an annual basis, MBA said. For borrowers applying for lower-payment mortgages (the 25th percentile), the national mortgage payment increased to $1,445 in January from $1,413 in December, MBA noted.
According to the MBA, the Builders’ Purchase Application Payment Index (BPAPI) showed that the median mortgage payment for purchase mortgages from MBA’s Builder Application Survey decreased to $2,161 in January from $2,173 in December.
Here are more key findings of MBA’s Purchase Applications Payment Index (PAPI) – January 2026:
- The national median mortgage payment was $2,070 in January 2026—up $45 from December. It was down by $135 from one year ago, equal to a 6.1% decrease.
- The national median mortgage payment for FHA loan applicants was $1,782 in January, down from $1,802 in December and down from $1,934 in January 2025.
- The national median mortgage payment for conventional loan applicants was $2,081, up from $2,036 in December and down from $2,225 in January 2025.
- The top five states with the highest PAPI were: Idaho (240.8), Nevada (219.5), Rhode Island (200.2), Arizona (199.1), and Florida (187.2).
- The top five states with the lowest PAPI were: D.C. (96.5), Alaska (112.8), Connecticut (113.2), Louisiana (114.4), and North Dakota (116.7).
- Homebuyer affordability decreased for Black households, with the national PAPI increasing from 153.8 in December to 155.3 in January.
- Homebuyer affordability decreased for Hispanic households, with the national PAPI increasing from 141.1 in December to 142.5 in January.
- Homebuyer affordability decreased for White households, with the national PAPI increasing from 150.5 in December to 152.0 in January.
