Raleigh-Cary mortgage payments are up since 2022. What’s surprising is by how much.
First-time buyers are facing a double-whammy: A sharp jump in mortgage rates coupled with high house prices has pushed monthly mortgage payments for new buyers up 52.2% in just two years, a new study says.
According to a new study from Construction Coverage, which tracks insurance and other real estate-related matters, the monthly payment for a 30-year mortgage on a median-priced home in Raleigh-Cary ($401,446) with a 20% down payment would have been about $1,490.
Today, that same house would cost about $435,906 ($34,460 more) and monthly payments would be closer to $2,268 ($778 more).
Overall, Raleigh’s two-year increase lags behind the nation’s two-year increase of 54% — growing from $1,175 to $1,809.
The study analyzed mortgage payments for more than 370 U.S. metros and all 50 states using data from Freddie Mac and Zillow.
Despite a slight decline from its late 2023 peak of 7.8%, today’s rates — about 6.8% — remain “at the highest level since 2002,” the report said.
It’s also “more than 2.5 times higher” than the record lows of early 2021, the height of the pandemic.
The change in interest rates has led to a slight decrease in home prices, but the reduction hasn’t been “significant enough” to offset increased borrowing costs,” said Jonathan Jones, the study’s author.
In the Triangle, the result is many first-time buyers are increasingly turning to smaller, more affordable alternatives: townhouses or condos.
In the Triangle area, they’re also expanding their search to bedroom towns like Zebulon and Knightdale further east and Pittsboro out west, where deals are more likely.
