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Lawrence Yun, chief economist and senior vice president of research of the National Association of Realtors®, also sees promising indicators for homebuyers. "Housing affordability is improving ever so modestly, but it is moving in the right direction," he said. A slight decrease in mortgage rates in the month of June definitely helped buyers, said Yun. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage declined to 6.78% on July 25, down from 7.22% on May 2, according to Freddie Mac data via the Fed. But it’s a "very small improvement" in context, he said — the typical monthly mortgage payment has essentially doubled from pre-Covid years. Before Covid, a $1,000 mortgage payment was the norm; today it’s above $2,000, he said. "In the bigger picture, it is a substantial increase on pre-Covid conditions, yet on a month-to-month basis, it is a slight improvement," Yun said.
