When experts and laypeople alike talk about what’s been impacting the housing market, one theme comes up over and over: affordability. As you probably already know, there’s good news and bad news here. By many metrics, homes are getting more affordable for Americans. Still, we’re not necessarily leaping into ultra-affordable territory any time soon. The cost of housing compared to income remains an obstacle to many buyers.

Your hands aren’t tied here. While affordability may not be in the sweetest spot, would-be homebuyers can often find ways to make it work. They key is exploring their options, running the numbers, and finessing their specific loan scenario. You can help with all of that. 

Affordability: Moving in the right direction but still an obstacle

As monthly mortgage payments have outstripped income growth, many Americans have felt stuck. Renters couldn’t afford to buy their first property, and homeowners would strain their budget by making a move. 

Fortunately, things are starting to change in a few core areas that determine affordability:

• Mortgage rates have been trending downward. In fact, they recently hit their lowest point in the last three years.
• The median sales price of homes has been creeping downward from its late 2022 peak. 
• Some experts predict that 2026 will be the year where average monthly mortgage payments fall below 30% of a household’s monthly income. We might be back in the comfortable range for this key affordability metric for the first time since 2022. 

For more insights here, we can look to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) housing affordability indices (HAIs). An index of 100 indicates that homes are affordable, but only barely so. 100 essentially means that we’re at the break-even point. As the index moves further above 100, housing affordability improves.

Per the latest monthly HAI data from the NAR, housing affordability has been trending upward through the end of 2025 after crossing the break-even point in August. Per the latest available data, the index in each month sat at:

• 97.9 in July
• 100.6 in August
• 105.3 in September
• 106.3 in October
• 108.4 in November (this is a predicted index — finalized data is still pending)

This is a national average, but it varies pretty widely by region. In the midwest, the NAR puts its most recent HAI at 135.3. In the west, it’s 76.9, signaling that housing is still widely unaffordable in that region.

Helping homebuyers figure out how much they can afford

By many measures and in a lot of geographic areas, housing is finally starting to become affordable. That means that would-be homebuyers can finally start exploring their options. In order for them to actually buy, though, they need to finesse the numbers. As affordability currently stands, most people don’t have a ton of wiggle room here. 

That’s where you come in. Your team can help potential buyers explore different loan scenarios to find the right option for their specific financial situation. You can deploy some targeted tools to help them find the most affordable mortgage:

Personalized rate quotes 

Plenty of affordability calculators exist online, promising to help people figure out how much house they can afford. (Don’t believe us? Do a quick internet search.) 

The trouble is that those tools pull in general data, like current average mortgage rates. When affordability lives on the razor’s edge, people might run the numbers and think they can’t afford to buy — or run them and think they can when they actually can’t. 

To help people get a true feel for their purchasing power, you can connect them to the rates for which they’ll actually qualify. Offering free personalized rate quotes on your website gives you an excellent way to do just that. 

With a lead workflow, this can all happen automatically and near-instantaneously. The individual inputs their information, like their contact info (so your team can follow up), credit score range, loan amount, and zip code. Then, the workflow pulls info from your pricing engine to immediately tailor a rate quote to the prospective borrower. 

Better still, you can connect people to rate dashboards tailored to them. This way, they don’t just get one personalized rate quote. Instead, they can see their options across different loan scenarios. This helps them understand how different borrowing options impact affordability. It empowers them to make savvy decisions that support their desired financial outcomes. 

Calculators

Similarly, calculators help you put the power into the borrower’s hands. When they can crunch the numbers themselves, they can see how their decisions impact affordability. They can explore different down payment sizes or loan terms, for example, to find what works best for their budget and financial goals. 

You might explore adding calculators to further help them dig into the choices on the table. With a buydown calculator, you can showcase how something like a 3-2-1 buydown could make homebuying more affordable early on. 

We even offer an affordability calculator you can deploy on your site. This way, people can see how much purchasing power they have, complete with a conservative, moderate, and aggressive estimate. 

Rate tracking

Even minor rate movements can have a major impact on affordability. That’s particularly true if you lend in an area where home prices are relatively high, pinching affordability. 

As a result, helping people track affordability offers dual benefits. It allows individuals to stay informed and identify the right time to take action. And it positions your lending institution to be their trusted partner when they decide they’re ready to move forward.

We have a couple of tools you can use here. 

• Rate alert emails. This tool automatically sends weekly emails with the latest rates, branded to your lending institution. You can feature multiple loan products in each email, tailoring it to the individual’s preferences. 
• Dream Rate. If the person already gets too many emails or simply doesn’t want a weekly alert, you can deploy Dream Rate. To use this tool, you set the borrower’s target rate. Then, Dream Rate regularly and automatically scans your pricing engine. Once the person’s ideal rate is available, it alerts both the borrower and the appropriate loan officer. 

Affordability still poses a big obstacle, but your team can help borrowers move around it. To learn more about how our tools can support you here, book a demo with us.