- The average monthly payment (principal, interest, taxes and insurance, or PITI) among active mortgages hit a record $2,070 in August; up $140 (+7.2%) from last year and $399 (+19.3%) since the start of 2020
- Average PITI on loans originated in the last two years is $600 per month higher than that of 2020/2021 vintage mortgages, with two-thirds of each payment devoted to paying down interest
- In contrast, just 12% of the monthly payment among 2023/24 mortgages goes directly toward principal reduction – less than half the comparative average for other recent vintages
- Though older loans have lower PITI, 35% of those payments go toward variable costs, such as taxes and insurance, that are at risk of increase even as principal and interest components remain fixed
- All aspects of mortgage payments are rising as home prices, loan balances, interest rates and taxes have trended higher, with average principal, interest and tax payments up 15-17% since the start of 2020
- Increased property insurance costs stand out; the average monthly insurance payment is up 52% since the start of 2020, with increases in some higher-risk areas as high as 90% over that same period
- Rising premiums are due, in part, to higher home prices, but a direct comparison of mortgages analyzed shows a sharp jump from an average $4.65 per $1K covered from 2013-2022 to $5.38/$1K in July 2024
- In New Orleans and Miami, property insurance is ~$17/$1K in coverage, more than 3X the U.S. average; higher costs also extend beyond hurricane zones and into the tornado and hail risk of the central states
- On average, insurance premiums account for 9.4% of monthly mortgage payments, up from less than 7.7% from 2013-2020, hitting their highest share on record
- In high-risk areas, property insurance can make up as much as 25% of the average mortgage holder’s overall monthly PITI payment
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, today released its October 2024 ICE Mortgage Monitor Report, based on the company’s robust mortgage, real estate and public records data sets.
This month’s Mortgage Monitor examines the components that make up what has become, as of August, the largest average monthly payment in history among active mortgages by dollar amount. According to ICE Vice President of Research and Analysis Andy Walden, every element of a mortgage payment – principal, interest, taxes and insurance (PITI) – has been rising in recent years, but spikes in property insurance costs have been particularly sharp.
“All in, accounting for both fixed and variable inclusions, the average payment among U.S. mortgage holders hit a record high of $2,070 in August,” said Walden. “That’s about $140 more than at the same time last year, and up nearly $400 since the beginning of 2020 – a more than 19% increase from pre-pandemic times. When you peel back the layers on the data, a clear delineation appears between those fortunate enough to have taken out their mortgages before the Fed began to raise interest rates in 2022 and everyone who’s taken one out since. For this second group, a historically outsized share of their total mortgage payment is covering interest, with very little – even considering the young age of the loans – going towards principal.”
More seasoned mortgages, though they tend to have lower overall mortgage payments, are seeing a growing share of total PITI going to variable costs that exist outside of fixed rate terms and set principal and interest installments. Indeed, more than a third of their perceived ‘fixed’ housing payment consists of variable costs.
“While principal, interest, and taxes have all increased in the 15-17% range since the beginning of 2020, property insurance is up 52% over the same time span,” Walden said. “And, yes, higher home prices logically lead to higher-dollar policies; that’s why looking at the cost for every $1,000 of coverage gives us such critical, apples to apples, context. Not only are homeowners paying 12% more today for the same dollar amount of coverage than they were, on average, from 2013-2022, but they’re also insuring a smaller share of the property’s underlying value. Given that coverage amounts are based not on a property’s market value, but its replacement cost, the average policy has also gone from covering over 100% of the average home’s value back in 2013-2015 to just 88% today.”
In two particularly hurricane-prone metros, New Orleans and Miami, annual insurance premiums on mortgaged single-family residences average ~$17 per $1K of policy coverage, more than three times the national average of $5.38. Higher relative premiums are also seen throughout the central U.S. corridor where tornados and hail are the more prevalent risk elements. In Oklahoma City, for example, annual premiums average more than $10 per $1K of coverage, nearly twice the national average. Insurance costs are much lower on a relative basis across the northeastern and western portions of the country, falling below $3 per $1K of coverage in metros such as San Jose, Calif., San Francisco, Las Vegas and Rochester, N.Y.
“Given the rising costs of homeowner’s insurance in many areas of the country, it’s hardly surprising that premiums now make up more than 9.4% of monthly obligations on mortgaged single-family homes across the U.S.,” Walden added. “That’s up from an average of less than 7.7% from 2013-2020 and the highest share on record. Of course, in higher-risk areas such as New Orleans, the share of the mortgage payment earmarked for insurance can be as high as 25%. That’s something we also see beyond traditional hurricane zones. For example, insurance already accounts for more than 15% of monthly mortgage payments in areas like Oklahoma City, Wichita and Tulsa and, every day, a growing number of potential trouble spots emerge.”
In other areas of the country, it is not insurance, but rather high property taxes that are the main driver of mortgage payment variability. In the Northeast, as well as parts of the Midwest and Texas, for example, more than 40% of the average mortgage payment is made up of variable costs. Perhaps the most notable examples are Rochester and Syracuse, in New York, where property taxes alone account for more than 35% of the average monthly mortgage payment. Despite 95% of such loans having set principal and interest payments, this presents a particular concern for mortgage holders with fixed incomes, and those with loans originated at the high end of debt-to-income (DTI) thresholds.
Much more information on these and other topics can be found in this month’s Mortgage Monitor.
