This article compares ACS 1-year data from 2008 to 2024, both within and across different years.

For the first time since 2019, movers in 2024 did not have a significantly higher median mortgage payment than movers had the year before. 

Among homeowners, most recent movers are likely new buyers though some may be moving into homes purchased in earlier years.

While mortgage payments for recent movers continued to rise in 2024, growth in the median mortgage payments slowed for this group compared to the previous two years.

The 2024 ACS shows homeowners who moved that year paid 3.6% more for mortgages than 2023 recent movers — about a third of the 10.0% increase from 2022 to 2023.

The number of homeowners with a mortgage who moved in 2024 fell to 1.5 million — the lowest since 2014 and the third consecutive annual decline from the 2021 peak of 2.1 million (Figure 2).

However, the 4.5% drop in 2024 was significantly smaller than the 17.7% decline in 2023.

Homeowners who last moved before 2022 saw little change in mortgage payments across every ACS since, suggesting they have been less likely to refinance or modify their mortgage terms in recent years.

For example, homeowners who last moved in 2019 had a real median mortgage payment of $1,578 in the 2024 ACS — which was not significantly different from $1,570 in 2023 and $1,591 in 2022 for this group.

However, payments of those who last moved in 2019 did decline significantly between the 2019 ACS ($1,798) and 2024 ACS.

The gap in mortgage payments between recent movers and those who last moved five years ago reached a record high in 2024 (Figure 3).

Adjusting for inflation, homeowners who moved in 2024 paid $648 more per month than those who last moved five years earlier (Table 1). This 41.1% difference was the largest since at least 2008 and was 2.9 percentage points higher than in 2023.

The gap was much narrower in 2019, when recent movers paid $232, or 14.8% more per month than homeowners who moved five years earlier.

Recent homeowners haven’t always faced higher mortgages than those who have lived in their homes for five years. Between the 2009 and 2013 ACS, homeowners who moved during the survey year actually had lower median monthly mortgage payments than those who had moved five years ago.

Mortgage payments fluctuate due to many factors like higher home values, lower down payments, and rising interest or insurance rates.

In 2024, recent movers lived in pricier homes than in 2019 (Figure 4). The median home value of homeowners with a mortgage who moved in 2024 was $391,500 — 17.9% ($59,400) higher than the $332,100 median of 2019 movers.

From 2021 to 2024, the real median home value of homeowners with a mortgage who moved during the survey year hovered between $385,000 and $405,000.

The median home value for all homeowners with a mortgage rose after the 2019 ACS, regardless of when they moved. Yet in 2024, recent movers had higher mortgage payments despite owning less valuable homes than those who moved between 2011 and 2022 (Figure 5).

Homeowners who last moved in 2021 paid $495 less a month — a 22.2% difference — than those who moved in 2024, even though their homes were worth 5.3% more.

Likewise, homeowners who last moved in 2019 had a real median home value of $396,800—$5,000 more than recent movers in 2024 — despite much lower mortgage payments.