As we approach 2025’s midpoint, many of last year’s headwinds buffeting the lending landscape persist—chief among them the affordability challenge to both borrowers and lenders. The combination of low inventory, high interest rates and elevated home prices continue to constrain both purchase and refi opportunities. How constrained? Curinos’ proprietary datasets reveal an implied average principal and interest (P&I) mortgage payment of $2,570 in April, an increase of 44% in P&I in the past three years (see chart).
But P&I accounts for only a portion of the payment burden that most borrowers face, as rising property taxes and insurance premiums further constrict demand. They now represent as much as 25% of monthly payments—four times greater than historical norms—and they’re having a profound effect not only on the total cost equation but also on the ability of borrowers to qualify.
Perhaps more than ever, the affordability challenge calls for an affordability strategy that can enable lenders to monitor, tailor and optimize their position in the market. And that, in turn, requires the right data, granular and current, which Curinos LendersBenchmark Analyzer can provide through its tracking of a statistically significant segment of the total mortgage market.
Source: Curinos LendersBenchmark Analyzer; Arch MI
