Mortgage rate declines in early January allowed for refinance opportunities for nearly 5 million borrowers and pushed housing affordability to a four-year high, according to ICE Mortgage Technology‘s February 2026 Mortgage Monitor Report released on Monday.

The company also said that 2025 ended with the highest level of negative equity since 2018 and the weakest home-price growth in more than a decade.

The early January drop in mortgage rates — which fell to an average of 6.04%, per ICE — gave some 4.8 million borrowers a chance to lower their monthly payments and refinance into more favorable terms. details ⇒

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