Overview
- Nearly 7 in 10 mortgage shoppers submit only one application, according to Zillow’s Consumer Housing Trends Report.
- On a typical $359,000 home, trimming the rate from 6.24% to 5.74% lowers the payment to about $2,253 a month and saves roughly $1,100 a year, assuming 20% down and typical taxes, insurance and maintenance.
- That half-point difference would have made about 22,000 additional U.S. listings affordable to a median-income household in November 2025, including more than 1,200 in Dallas.
- Savings are largest in expensive markets, reaching about $4,750 per year in San Jose and exceeding $2,000 in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Boston and New York.
- Lender quotes vary widely — past studies show spreads from roughly 50 to as much as 130 basis points — underscoring the value of comparison shopping as affordability recently hit a three-year best on lower rates and record seller discounts.