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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 78 September 2025 J O U R N A L paired with reduced interest rates, this could be a favorable moment to secure a reduced monthly housing payment. With a mortgage rate of 6.55%, which is around the current average, a home- buyer on a $3,000 monthly budget can afford a $439,000 home. This indicates that since May, when rates reached a recent high of 7.08%, the homebuyer's purchasing power has increased by about $20,000. Homebuyers began reacting to lower mortgage rates over the weekend, according to Redfin brokers in various regions of the nation. However, because people are on vacation and getting ready for the start of school, late August is usually a slow time for housing activity. With mortgage rates now falling on news coming out of a Fed meeting in Jackson Hole, the market could actually get a little less sluggish in this late-summer season. The market is expecting the Fed to lower interest rates in September. Mortgage rates already account for that, and they may increase again based on the results of the infla- tion and employment statistics that are released early next month. Following the Fed meeting on September 17, it seems doubtful that mortgage rates would drop any further. "Serious homebuyers should call off their end-of-summer vacations and plan to hit the open houses and their Redfin apps instead of the beach," said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. "A lot of people mistakenly assume that an interest rate cut in September will cause mortgage rates to fall. But the market– not the Fed–dictates mortgage rates, which are falling after Jerome Powell signaled from Jackson Hole that a Sep- tember rate cut is all but guaranteed." According to experts, now is a won- derful time to make listings stand out on- line with a price reduction and possibly even new images, since lower prices should entice some hesitant buyers back to the market. MIDDLE CLASS PRICED OUT AS AFFORDABILITY SLIPS FURTHER FROM REACH T he National Housing Con- ference (NHC) reports that middle-class Americans are now facing a housing affordability crisis once reserved for low-income families. According to the NHC's new "Priced Out: When a Good Job Isn't Enough" report, rising home prices and rents have left millions unable to buy or even rent a modest home across the nation. "Priced Out: When a Good Job Isn't Enough" shows that since 2019: Thirty-two percent of 390 metropol- itan areas now require double the salary once needed to afford a home. Close to half (45%) of metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) require six-figure incomes to purchase a typically priced home. One hundred and fifty of the tracked MSAs requiring six-figure incomes are outside of California, and 64 are outside of coastal communities that have histori- cally contended with prohibitive costs. Forty-seven percent of tracked oc- cupations cannot afford a two-bedroom apartment, with 32 MSAs requiring a salary exceeding $75,000. Since 2019, some 85 MSAs require a 50% increase in salary or higher to afford a one-bedroom apartment, and 59 MSAs require an increase of 50% or more in salary to afford a two-bedroom apartment. "These findings underscore the depth and breadth of the housing crisis, which is increasingly pricing out work- ing families across the country—regard- less of geography or profession," said David M. Dworkin, President and CEO of the National Housing Conference. "The housing affordability crisis is now hitting families in every metro area, for nearly every occupation." Data for NHC's report comes from its Paycheck to Paycheck database, which compares annual wages and housing costs for nearly 300 occupations in 390 MSAs, showing where working families can—or cannot—afford typical housing. The report also shows a sharp drop in the share of sampled occupations able to achieve homeownership. In 2019, 37% of tracked occupations could afford to buy a home with a 10% down payment; by 2024, that number had plummeted to just 14%. Zeroing in on Five U.S. Metros Utilizing data from NHC's Paycheck to Paycheck database, the report exam-