Markets 
Outstanding mortgage payments reached a new high at the end of last year when the typical mortgage holder’s monthly payment exceeded $2,000 for the first time.
While the average monthly payment for new homebuyers crossed the $2,000 threshold in September 2022, the rise in the average monthly payment for all outstanding mortgages to $2,005 in the fourth quarter of 2025 for the first time underscores the affordability challenges facing buyers, according to Realtor.com data.
The uptick covers the full portfolio of mortgages in the U.S., including a large group of borrowers who took out loans before 2022 and have mortgage rates of 4% or lower – whereas new buyers face significantly higher payments given the elevated mortgage rates.
“New borrowers entering the market today face substantially higher payments than the existing portfolio average implies, which is keeping many potential sellers locked in place,” wrote Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst for Realtor.com.
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The report noted that the average payment was $1,255 in early 2013 and increased gradually to $1,456 by early 2020, before it accelerated sharply amid surging home prices and new mortgage originations.
The average mortgage payment increased by more than $600 in just the last several years, rising from $1,390 in early 2021 to $2,005 at the end of 2025 – which amounts to a 44% increase in roughly four years.
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The report found that a little more than half of all outstanding mortgages, or 50.6%, still carry interest rates of 4% or lower. More than three quarters of all mortgages, or about 78%, have a rate below 6%.
The share of mortgages with a 6% or higher share now stands at 21.9%, an increase of 3.9 percentage points from the 18% reading at the end of 2024, which shows a meaningful year-over-year acceleration that was driven by sustained buyer activity even amid high borrowing costs.
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“Even in today’s high-price, high-rate market, homebuying activity around major life events, such as having kids, a job change, or a divorce, keeps the market in motion,” Jones wrote.
“Easing inflation and mortgage rates will be key drivers of seller activity as well, which will relieve some of the price pressure and competition in today’s undersupplied market,” she added.
The Realtor.com report also noted that while rate lock-in “remains substantial” with about 78% of mortgages carrying rates below 6%, the steady erosion of the cohort of mortgage holders with rates below 4% and the acceleration in the growth of the population with mortgage rates at or above 6% suggests the “market’s center of gravity is gradually shifting.”
“The question for 2026, now complicated by renewed rate volatility tied to geopolitical uncertainty, is whether relief arrives fast enough to unlock reluctant sellers before another spring slips by,” Jones said.
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