Redfin Reports Monthly Payments Tick Up for First Time in 6 Months as Mortgage Rates, Home Prices Jump

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The median U.S. monthly mortgage payment is now $2,742, up 0.4% year over year—a small increase, but the first in nearly six months, according to a new report from Redfin.

The report moted housing payments are climbing because the Iran war and rising oil prices have pushed the weekly average mortgage rate up to a six-month high of 6.38%. Daily average mortgage rates rose as high as 6.64% at the end of last week. Home-sale prices are a factor, too: the median home-sale price rose 2.1% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending March 29—the biggest uptick in a year.

High costs, along with economic uncertainty from the Iran war, have sidelined some would-be homebuyers. Pending home sales declined 1.2% year over year, and mortgage-purchase applications fell 3% week over week. The typical home spends 53 days on the market before going under contract, five days longer than last year.

“On the selling side, new listings are ticking up; they rose 1.7% year over year,” the report said. “Overall, there are 630,000 more home sellers than buyers in the market—the biggest gap in records dating back to 2013.”