Closing costs and monthly mortgage payments spiked last year while Black and Hispanic buyers faced higher levels of denial on home loans, according to the new report “Data Point: 2022 Mortgage Market Activity and Trends,” published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
During 2022, closing costs rose 22% from 2021 to $5,954 as a higher percentage of borrowers (50.2%) paid discount points in 2022 than in any other year since data collection in this area began – the average borrower paid $2,370 for discount points in 2022.
Average monthly mortgage payments increased more than 46% last year, from $1,400 in December 2021 to $2,045 in December 2022. The median interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at the end of 2022 was 6.5%.
The CFPB also determined that Black and Hispanic borrowers were denied loans at higher rates, received smaller loans, were charged higher interest rates, and paid more in upfront fees than white and Asian borrowers. For example, in 2022, the median interest rate for Black and Hispanic borrowers was above 5%, while the median rate was below 5% for White and Asian borrowers. Lenders also increasingly denied applicants for insufficient income – more than 50% of mortgage denials for Asian applicants were due to insufficient income, while the denial rate was 45% for Black and Hispanic applicants and around 40% of denials for White applicants. In comparison, denials due to insufficient income were below 40% for all four groups in 2018.
Also during 2022, cash-out refinances comprised majority of refinance originations – 2.2 million, a 73.2% drop from 8.3 million in 2021. And home equity lines of credit were the only form of refinancing to see a rise from 2021, with depository institutions offering the majority of the 1.27 million home equity lines of credit in 2022.
The full report is now available online.
