CHICAGO -- Mortgage payments grew an astounding 33 percent in 1980, due to rising housing costs and double-digit mortgage rates, Chicago Title Insurance Co. reported Monday.
In its fifth annual national survey, the state's largest title insurance company reported average monthly payments went from $449 in 1979 to $599 in 1980, despite the fact 1980 buyers put down more money on their homes.
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Chicago Title said mortgage rates between 10 and 17 percent had been expected to boost payments, but the increase in the median price of homes, from $58,100 in 1979 to $68,714 in 1980, had been unanticipated.
Between 1976 and 1980, prices for homes have increased 58.5 percent and monthly payments have gone up 82 percent. In 1976, the median price for a home was $43,340 and the average monthly mortgage payment was $329.
The survey indicated first-time buyers paid a median price of $61,450 for a home in 1980, compared with $50,800 in 1979. Repeat buyers paid a median $64,600 in 1979, compared with $75,750 last year.
The average 1980 down payment was 28 percent of the purchase price, compared with 24.9 percent in 1979.
The Chicago Title survey interviewed more than 400 homebuyers in 11 markets across the country last October.
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