Home prices begin to firm as affordability improves and inventory tightens
ATLANTA & NEW YORK -- (Oct. 6, 2025) – ICE Mortgage Technology, neutral provider of a robust end-to-end mortgage platform and part of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), today released its October 2025 ICE Mortgage Monitor Report. ICE data reveals that home affordability has reached its best level in 2.5 years, driven by easing mortgage rates.
“The recent pullback in rates has created a tailwind for both homebuyers and existing borrowers,” said Andy Walden, Head of Mortgage and Housing Market Research at ICE. “We’re seeing affordability at a 2.5-year high, which is beginning to bolster purchase demand, while creating more opportunities for homeowners to lower their monthly payments with a rate-and-term refinance loan."
Key findings from the October Mortgage Monitor include:
“As affordability improves and homeowners gain the ability to refinance, lenders and servicers need to be ready to act quickly,” said Tim Bowler, President of ICE Mortgage Technology. “Our integrated MSP® servicing and Encompass® loan origination systems, combined with robust data and analytics, enable our customers to identify and engage borrowers at the right moment — whether they’re looking to purchase, refinance or tap into their equity. By leveraging ICE’s technology, our clients can deliver a modern experience and capture opportunities as market dynamics shift.”
The full October Mortgage Monitor report contains a deeper analysis of August mortgage payment performance, mortgage origination trends, and housing market trends featuring September ICE Home Price Index (HPI) data.
Further detail, including charts, can be found in this month’s Mortgage Monitor report.
ICE manages the nation’s leading repository of loan-level residential mortgage data and performance information covering the majority of the overall market, including tens of millions of loans across the spectrum of credit products and more than 160 million historical records. The ICE Home Price Index provides one of the most complete, accurate and timely measures of home prices available, covering 95% of U.S. residential properties down to the ZIP code level. In addition, the company maintains one of the most robust public property records databases available, covering 99.9% of the U.S. population and households from more than 3,100 counties.
ICE’s research experts carefully analyze this data to produce a summary supplemented by dozens of charts and graphs that reflect trend and point-in-time observations for the monthly Mortgage Monitor report. To review the full report, visit: https://mortgagetech.ice.com/resources/data-reports.
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) is a Fortune 500 company that designs, builds and operates digital networks that connect people to opportunity. We provide financial technology and data services across major asset classes helping our customers access mission-critical workflow tools that increase transparency and efficiency. ICE’s futures, equity, and options exchanges – including the New York Stock Exchange – and clearing houses help people invest, raise capital and manage risk. We offer some of the world’s largest markets to trade and clear energy and environmental products. Our fixed income, data services and execution capabilities provide information, analytics and platforms that help our customers streamline processes and capitalize on opportunities. At ICE Mortgage Technology, we are transforming U.S. housing finance, from initial consumer engagement through loan production, closing, registration and the long-term servicing relationship. Together, ICE transforms, streamlines and automates industries to connect our customers to opportunity.
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Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 -- Statements in this press release regarding ICE's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see ICE's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in ICE's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, as filed with the SEC on February 6, 2025.
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