Realtor.com estimated that a typical U.S. mortgage holder buying a median-priced home would face a modeled monthly principal-and-interest payment $1,136 higher, highlighting the cost of moving from an older loan.
The company’s estimate puts the purchase payment at $2,468, compared with $1,332 on an existing mortgage, or 85.3% more. The purchase case uses the September 2026 median listing price of $419,250, a 14.3% down payment and a 30-year fixed loan.
For its purchase-rate assumption, Realtor.com used Freddie Mac’s 7.32% average for Oct. 22. Freddie Mac later reported averages of 7.24% on Oct. 29 and 7.18% on Nov. 5, but Realtor.com did not update the modeled gap using those readings.
Realtor.com put the typical outstanding mortgage rate at 4.0%. Its existing-payment estimate draws on fixed-rate, owner-occupied purchase and refinance loans originated since 2013, weighted by loan age. Both payment figures cover principal and interest only, excluding property taxes and insurance.
The modeled gap also varied by location, Realtor.com said. In Portland-South Portland, Maine, the estimated payment for a new purchase was $3,392, compared with $1,270 for an existing mortgage, a 167.0% increase. Pittsburgh had the narrowest percentage difference among the 100 largest metros: $1,441 versus $1,005, or 43.3%.
In a scenario using a 6% mortgage rate, Realtor.com estimated a $2,154 payment, still 61.7% above the existing-mortgage figure. Under the company’s affordability test, 50.2% of households could afford the median-priced home at that rate, with principal and interest counted as affordable when they are no more than 30% of household income. Realtor.com Senior Economist Hannah Jones said, “Lower rates alone would not erase the affordability gap.”
The company said first-time buyers and owners who would replace an older, lower-rate mortgage face the payment pressure. September’s median listing price was down 1.4% from a year earlier but 34.2% above September 2019; Realtor.com did not quantify how much of the payment difference came from home prices versus mortgage rates. EconoTimes has also covered home affordability across U.S. counties.
Freddie Mac publishes its mortgage-rate survey weekly on Thursdays at noon ET. Under that schedule, its next reading is due Thursday, Nov. 12, at noon ET.
