Per Business Insider

The difference between paying mortgage compared to rent has seen its largest gap since 2006, which was around the peak of the housing bubble. This peak eventually led to the Great Financial Crisis, which saw multiple bankruptcies, foreclosures, and banks collapsing.

The National Multifamily Housing Council, which gave the report, also gave a statement regarding the situation sharing the factors they believe have affected the monthly expenses of homeowners. They noted that now, the payments made by homeowners were far greater compared to rent and other expenses.

"Rapid home price appreciation in recent years coupled with rising interest rates has caused the monthly cost of homeownership to rise far more than both the cost of rent and other consumer goods,"

The report also shared how if Americans had to pay a 10% down payment on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, they would be paying an estimated $1,176 more compared to the end of 2022's rent prices.

Freddie Mac's chief economist Sam Khater gave a statement regarding what would happen should "mortgage rates continue to slide."

Khater: "If mortgage rates continue to slide over the next few weeks, look for a continued rebound during the first weeks of the spring homebuying season,"

In November 2022, real estate experienced a massive drop in mortgage applications. The market saw an almost 90% drop in new mortgage applicants amid the high rates, although this was already an improvement from recent peak rates.

To be specific, applications for mortgages dropped by 85% year-over-year during the time of the report.

In February, the Biden administration was expected to lower insurance costs to help make mortgages more affordable for lower-income buyers. The implementation of this decision saw mortgage insurance drop by around $800 a year or about 0.3%.

The insurance cost reduction was to be implemented by the Federal Housing Administration.

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