The median mortgage payment for a newly purchased home fell to a low point for 2020 in November, even as sellers were pricing properties at an all-time high, Redfin reported.
November's nationwide median mortgage payment was $1,094, down from $1,124 in October and the 2020 high point of $1,163 in February. The
November's low payment amount was driven by an average mortgage rate of 2.77% for the month, according to
"The relationship between historically low mortgage rates and surging home prices has been fascinating to watch this year," Daryl Fairweather, Redfin's chief economist, said in a press release.
"We've seen mortgage rates drive unforeseen levels of homebuyer demand, which has pushed prices up by upwards of 15% in recent weeks. The good news for those buyers who are persevering through a dearth of homes for sale and fierce bidding wars is that once you do land a home, today's sub-3% mortgage rates are largely cancelling out the high prices," Fairweather continued.
November was also the low point in 2020 for the median newly bought home in 35 out of the 50 largest metro areas in the nation. That list includes three of the four markets with the highest median payment in November, all in California: San Francisco at $4,420, San Jose at $3,828 and San Diego at $2,128.
The only exception within that group of markets was Los Angeles. That market's median payment was at its low for the year in April at $2,382. Last month, the median payment in Los Angeles was $2,453.
At the other end of the scale is Detroit, where November's median monthly payment of $491 was the lowest for any metro in the country that month. However, in both January and February, before the pandemic hit, the monthly payment for a new purchase in this Michigan metro area was even lower, at $438 and $483, respectively.
