Housing Affordability Statistics: Half of New Homes Sold for Less Than $393,300 in Q3 2026
Half of new homes sold for less than $393,300 in the third quarter of 2026. Prices for new homes were down from $410,100 a year earlier.
How Affordable Is Housing in the U.S. Right Now?
The Census median sales price of new houses sold was $393,300 in the third quarter of 2026, down from $410,100 a year earlier, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's survey of new residential sales (FRED series MSPUS). MSPUS does not include existing-home sales, does not track the same house through time, and is not the price of a "typical U.S. home." Changes can reflect both market prices and the mix of new houses sold.
The mortgage debt service ratio — aggregate scheduled mortgage payments as a share of disposable personal income — stands at 5.8%, little changed from 5.9% in Q1 2026.
Key Statistics at a Glance
The American Distress Index read 47.0 (Typical) in Q2 2026. The composite itself sits higher than 44% of all published quarters since 2005. Two measures on this page also appear in the index: mortgage delinquency feeds the Delinquency domain, while the mortgage debt service ratio feeds Debt Burden. New-house prices, shelter CPI, HELOC balances, and originations are separate context measures; this page does not infer a fixed sequence among them.
How Has the Median Sales Price of New Houses Changed?
The median sales price of new houses sold in the U.S. was $393,300 in the third quarter of 2026, down from $410,100 a year earlier. Census puts the relative standard error of the quarterly median at about three percent, so smaller moves can be sampling noise, and the latest quarter is preliminary. In 2019 the median averaged $320,250. Prices are in current dollars, not adjusted for inflation, and this does not calculate a monthly payment or describe existing homes.
Within this same new-house series, the highest median before 2008 was $257,400 in 2007, and the lowest median in 2008–2011 was $208,400 in 2009. These are distribution medians for new houses sold in each quarter, not gains for a continuing set of homeowners or a buyer-level calculation of equity, affordability, delinquency risk, or ability to keep a house.
The median price of a new house is the lowest since the second quarter of 2021
Median sales price of new houses sold in the United States, in thousands of dollars; excludes existing-home sales. Quarterly, the first quarter of 2005 to the third quarter of 2026.
Full data and trend: Median sales price of new houses sold indicator page
What Does the Mortgage Debt Service Ratio Measure?
The mortgage debt service ratio — aggregate scheduled mortgage payments as a share of disposable personal income — stands at 5.8% as of the second quarter of 2026, little changed from 5.9% in Q1 2026. That is the lowest ratio since Q2 2025. In 2019 it averaged 5.9%, and its highest reading before 2008 was 9.0% in Q4 2007.
The Board's current method starts in 2005, and older published figures from its earlier method cannot be set beside these. This is an aggregate ratio, not an average monthly payment, borrower-level debt-to-income ratio, underwriting measure, or estimate for FHA borrowers. Its income side covers everyone, renters and owners without a mortgage included, and changes can reflect either the payment numerator or the disposable-income denominator.
The mortgage debt service ratio is the same as a year earlier
Mortgage payments as a share of disposable personal income, United States, seasonally adjusted. Quarterly, the first quarter of 2005 to the second quarter of 2026.
Full data and trend: Mortgage Debt Service Ratio indicator page
How Do FHA and Bank-Booked Mortgage Delinquency Compare?
HUD's FHA delinquency rate was 13.64% in August 2026, up from 12.51% in August 2025. The Fed bank-booked single-family mortgage rate was 1.9% in the second quarter of 2026, the same as in Q1 2026. HUD's FHA rate counts loans at least one payment behind, including loans in foreclosure or bankruptcy; the Fed's rate is the share of loan dollars on commercial banks' books 30 or more days past due or in nonaccrual status, and it includes FHA and VA loans.
The sources cover different mortgage populations and are released independently. Their rates do not identify the same loans or establish that borrower selection, rates, equity, income, or another factor caused the gap.
| Measure | FHA loans | Fed bank-booked series |
|---|---|---|
| Latest delinquency rate | 13.64% (Aug 2026) | 1.9% (Q2 2026) |
| Source population | Every active FHA-insured single-family forward loan (HUD FHA Single-Family Loan Performance Trends, monthly) | One- to four-family residential loans, including home equity lines, on commercial banks' books (Federal Reserve call-report data) |
| Role in the American Distress Index | Context comparison | Mortgage delinquency input to the Delinquency domain |
Comparison limit: different populations and delinquency definitions; the series do not identify the same loans or explain the gap.
Full analysis: FHA mortgage delinquency rate indicator page (The FHA Signal) | Mortgage Delinquency Statistics
What Do Outstanding HELOC Balances Show?
Borrowers owed $458.5 billion on home equity lines of credit in the second quarter of 2026, up $47.5 billion from $411 billion a year earlier, according to the New York Fed's Household Debt and Credit Report. That is the highest balance since Q4 2016, in dollars not adjusted for inflation. Balances have been above their year-earlier level for 16 quarters in a row.
The series counts drawn balances on credit reports, not credit limits, home equity installment loans, or people. Outstanding balances do not show the amount of new borrowing, how funds were used, why balances changed, or whether the borrowers are the same households represented in saving-rate or hardship-withdrawal data.
Home equity line of credit debt is the highest since the fourth quarter of 2016
Home equity lines of credit outstanding, U.S. households, in billions of nominal dollars. Quarterly, the first quarter of 2005 to the second quarter of 2026.
Full data and trend: HELOC Balances indicator page
Keep the Housing Measures Separate
New mortgages worth $504.6 billion first appeared on credit reports in the second quarter of 2026, up from $458.3 billion a year earlier, according to the New York Fed. That total counts purchase loans and refinances in one quarter; it is not total mortgage debt. The $393,300 price figure is the Census median for new houses sold, not the price of all homes available to buyers. Those two measures have different units and populations.
FHA delinquency and bank-booked mortgage delinquency also cover different populations. Their gap is descriptive; it does not establish which borrowers entered when, what mortgage rate they carry, or why either rate changed.
Read the FHA Signal analysis →What Does Shelter CPI Show for Housing Costs?
Shelter prices, covering rent, owners' equivalent rent, hotels and tenants' insurance, were 3.2% higher than a year earlier in September 2026, about the same as the rate of 3.6% in September 2025, by our calculation from the seasonally adjusted BLS index (CUSR0000SAH1). The Fed's 2% longer-run inflation objective is defined using PCE inflation rather than Shelter CPI. The pre-pandemic reference point on this seasonally adjusted basis is the 2015-2019 average of 3.3%.
Shelter CPI measures rent of primary residence and owners' equivalent rent within the national CPI framework. It is not a current asking-rent index, mortgage-payment series, or household-specific housing bill, and the page does not use it to forecast a future reading. Our rent and housing cost statistics page shows the same scope alongside separately measured housing-cost indicators.
Full data: Shelter CPI indicator page
Where Can Readers Find Lender and Servicer Context?
The origination-volume series does not rank individual lenders or establish current market share. For company-specific contact and complaint context, use the servicer directory; inclusion there is not a size, quality, or risk ranking.
Data Sources
CPI measurement basis: Every CPI reading and historical comparison on this page uses its source-owned basis unless explicitly identified otherwise: Year-over-year percent change computed from the seasonally adjusted BLS Shelter CPI (CUSR0000SAH1); seasonally adjusted values may be revised.
U.S. Census Bureau data retrieved via FRED
Median Sales Price of Houses Sold (MSPUS), a quarterly Census series for new houses sold in the United States, not seasonally adjusted. It excludes existing-home sales and should not be described as the median price of all U.S. homes. Published via FRED.
Federal Reserve data retrieved via FRED
Mortgage Debt Service Payments as a Percent of Disposable Personal Income (MDSP). Under the Board's current method, which starts in 2005, scheduled payments on mortgages in a sample of credit records are divided by the disposable personal income of all persons. Bank-booked single-family mortgage delinquency rate (DRSFRMACBS) from bank call reports.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Household Debt and Credit Report (HELOC balances, mortgage originations) from a random sample of Equifax credit reports drawn from the New York Fed's 5% Consumer Credit Panel. HUD's monthly FHA Single-Family Loan Performance Trends report (FHA delinquency), which covers every active FHA-insured single-family forward loan and is not seasonally adjusted.
We write with assistance from AI tools. Figures come from the data and sources named on this page.
Questions about housing affordability
How affordable is housing in the U.S. right now?
The Census median sales price of new houses sold was $393,300 in the third quarter of 2026, down from $410,100 a year earlier. MSPUS covers new houses sold; it is not the median for all U.S. homes or a complete affordability measure, because it carries no mortgage rate, payment or income. Separately, scheduled mortgage payments equaled 5.8% of U.S. disposable personal income in the second quarter of 2026, little changed from 5.9% in Q1 2026.
What is the current mortgage delinquency rate?
The Federal Reserve bank-booked single-family mortgage delinquency rate was 1.9% in the second quarter of 2026, the same as in Q1 2026. HUD counted 13.64% of FHA-insured loans at least one payment behind in August 2026, up from 12.51% in August 2025, including loans in foreclosure or bankruptcy. The two measure different things: HUD's FHA rate counts loans, and the Fed's rate is a share of loan dollars 30 or more days past due or in nonaccrual status. They do not identify the same loans, borrower traits, or cause of the difference.
What do HELOC balances show?
Borrowers owed $458.5 billion on home equity lines of credit in the second quarter of 2026, up $47.5 billion from $411 billion a year earlier, according to the New York Fed's Household Debt and Credit Report. That is the highest balance since Q4 2016, in dollars not adjusted for inflation. The figure is drawn balances on credit reports. It does not identify how borrowers used the funds, why balances changed, or whether the same households also appear in savings or hardship-withdrawal data.
What does housing affordability have to do with the American Distress Index?
Mortgage delinquency is an input to the American Distress Index's Delinquency domain, and the aggregate mortgage debt service ratio is an input to its Debt Burden domain. The other housing measures on this page are context rather than direct inputs. The index read 47.0 (Typical) in Q2 2026. The composite itself sits higher than 44% of all published quarters since 2005.