#mortgage-interest-rates

#mortgage-interest-rates

Budget shortfalls of this size often mean struggling to afford essential living costs like housing, healthcare, utilities and food. Reverse mortgages, primarily Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs), have long been used as a retirement income tool for homeowners 62 and older.

Housing affordability conditions improved for the seventh consecutive month to close out 2025 because of lower mortgage rates and steady household earnings growth, said Edward Seiler, MBA's associate vice president of housing economics and executive director of the Research Institute for Housing America. MBA expects that moderating home-price appreciation, combined with even lower mortgage rates, will continue to gradually ease affordability constraints and support increased housing market activity.

Nearly 1.3 million mortgages including more than 500,000 originated in 2025 carry rates between 6.875% and 6.99%, the most sensitive group to recent rate declines. ICE cited data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, which found that refinance activity hit a 17-week high in the week ending Jan. 16, with refinances making up 62% of all applications. ICE estimates about two-thirds of these originations were rate-and-term refis.