Whenever we need a pun about something being high, we always land on Snoop Dogg. 🍃😎 But there are other famous pot heads out there, like Willie Nelson. Roll us up and smoke us when we die! 😵💫
Trying your darndest to pay off your mortgage? If your on-time payments are more religious than the Righteous Gemstones, you’re doing better than a lot of peeps. 🏡✅ And high home prices might be to blame.
Here’s Five Fast Facts on mortgages and housing affordability:
- 🏘️ Mort Money, More Problems - High housing costs are starting to affect current homeowners, too. Mortgages at least 90 days late jumped 18.6% in December compared with a year earlier. That increase is happening faster than serious late payments on things like car loans, credit cards, or personal loans.
- 🤨 Good, Not Great - A bright spot: compared with the 2008–2010 financial crisis, today’s mortgage delinquency rates are much lower. Delinquencies are ticking up, (1.78% from 1.74% a year earlier), but still way below the 11.49% peak seen during the 2010 financial crisis.
- 👋 Buy Now, Pay Never - As of late 2025, data shows Americans owed $13.07 trillion on 86.67 million mortgages. That means roughly 1.5M mortgages may be delinquent. Sheesh!
- 📈 Essential Anxiety - Rising prices across the board are hurting households, with everyday costs up over 25% since January 2020. Higher home prices plus high mortgage rates pushed many buyers out of the housing market. Even though things are cooling a bit, the average single-family home sold for about $409,500 in December.
- 👊 Make It Happen - Average mortgage payments now eat up over 30% of income, up from about 21% pre-COVID. To close that gap, rates would need to fall to roughly 2.65%, incomes would have to rise 56%, or home prices would need to drop about 35%.
🔥Bottom line: Whether you’re on the hunt for a new home or working to pay off your current digs, everyone should keep an eye on housing affordability. What happens in real estate impacts households across the nation. Want more on all things mortgages and possible ways out of this mess? Wander over to this article and get your nerd on.
Shopping for a new house this year?
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