For the first time in years, prospective homebuyers may finally catch a break in 2026. Easing mortgage rates and slower home-price growth are expected to nudge affordability in a slightly better direction.
Realtor.com’s latest forecast projects that the monthly payment on a median-priced home will edge down by 1.3% next year, marking the first annual decline since 2020.
A chart from a Realtor.com forecast showing housing affordability. (Realtor.com)
Jake Krimmel, senior economist at Realtor.com, told that a few key changes are helping move the needle.
“We anticipate affordability will improve modestly, on average, in 2026. This results from our expectations of slightly lower interest rates, only modest increases in home prices and a more balanced market than in recent years,” Krimmel said.
Realtor.com’s latest forecast projects that the monthly payment on a median-priced home will edge down by 1.3% next year. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
He said the shift is an important post-pandemic turning point for affordability, and noted that the outlook on affordability improves even further once income growth is taken into account.
A couple walks up to the front of their home. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
“We expect the monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home to come in at 29.3% of median income, down from 2025 and 2024, and the first time under the 30% threshold since 2022.”
Still, he cautioned that buyers shouldn’t expect a dramatic turnaround.
“We are hardly out of the woods on affordability, but are at least moving in the right direction,” he said.