---
title: "Mortgage Debt Service Ratio"
slug: mortgage-debt-service-ratio
summary: "Scheduled mortgage payments equaled 5.8% of disposable personal income in Q2 2026, little changed from 5.9% in Q1 2026"
category: "Savings"
unit: percent
frequency: quarterly
direction: higher_is_worse
latest_value: 5.829946
latest_period: "2026-Q2"
trend: stable
last_updated: "2026-09-22T00:00:00Z"
source: "Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System data retrieved via FRED"
source_url: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MDSP
canonical_html: https://americandefault.org/indicators/mortgage-debt-service-ratio/
citation_apa: "Kilburn, R. (2026). Mortgage Debt Service Ratio [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/mortgage-debt-service-ratio/"
citation_chicago: "Kilburn, Ross. 2026. \"Mortgage Debt Service Ratio.\" American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/mortgage-debt-service-ratio/."
citation_mla: "Kilburn, Ross. \"Mortgage Debt Service Ratio.\" American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/mortgage-debt-service-ratio/."
---

# Mortgage Debt Service Ratio

> Scheduled mortgage payments equaled 5.8% of disposable personal income in Q2 2026, little changed from 5.9% in Q1 2026

## Current Reading

As of 2026-Q2, Mortgage Debt Service Ratio is **5.83%** (stable).

of disposable income goes to scheduled mortgage payments — little changed from the quarter before

## What Changed

- Scheduled mortgage payments equaled 5.8% of disposable personal income in Q2 2026, little changed from 5.9% in Q1 2026.
- The ratio matched its level a year earlier.
- The lowest reading since Q2 2025.

## Recent Values

| Period | Value |
|--------|-------|
| 2026-Q2 | 5.83% |
| 2026-Q1 | 5.87% |
| 2025-Q4 | 5.92% |
| 2025-Q3 | 5.87% |
| 2025-Q2 | 5.83% |
| 2025-Q1 | 5.76% |
| 2024-Q4 | 5.69% |
| 2024-Q3 | 5.74% |
| 2024-Q2 | 5.7% |
| 2024-Q1 | 5.66% |
| 2023-Q4 | 5.64% |
| 2023-Q3 | 5.62% |

## Historical Context

- Peak since 2005: **8.95%** in Q4 2007
- Low since 2005: **4.76%** in Q1 2021
- Pre-pandemic average (2015-01 – 2019-12): **5.97%**
- Post-pandemic average (2020-01 – 2024-12): **5.5%**

## Methodology

This indicator carries quarterly observations and is interpreted as higher values indicate worse household conditions. Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System data retrieved via FRED.
Automation: collected automatically on the daily refresh pipeline, with no hand entry.

## Source

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System data retrieved via FRED — [https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MDSP](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MDSP)

Data retrieved: 2026-09-22T00:00:00Z

## Related Indicators

- [debt-service](https://americandefault.org/indicators/debt-service/)
- [falling-behind](https://americandefault.org/indicators/falling-behind/)

## Machine-Readable Endpoints

- HTML page: https://americandefault.org/indicators/mortgage-debt-service-ratio/
- JSON: https://americandefault.org/api/indicators/mortgage-debt-service-ratio.json
- CSV: https://americandefault.org/api/downloads/mortgage-debt-service-ratio.csv
- BibTeX: https://americandefault.org/citations/mortgage-debt-service-ratio.bib
- RIS: https://americandefault.org/citations/mortgage-debt-service-ratio.ris

## Citation

**APA 7th**

    Kilburn, R. (2026). Mortgage Debt Service Ratio [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/mortgage-debt-service-ratio/

**Chicago (author-date)**

    Kilburn, Ross. 2026. "Mortgage Debt Service Ratio." American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/mortgage-debt-service-ratio/.

**MLA 9th**

    Kilburn, Ross. "Mortgage Debt Service Ratio." American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/mortgage-debt-service-ratio/.

Use **American Default Research** as the institutional name in source lists, bibliographies, and press citations. **American Default** is the brand and URL form. **American Distress Index (ADI)** is the product name for the national composite score.