Mortgages Under $100K Are Vanishing—but a New Federal Push Aims To Bring Them Back

The share of small-mortgage deals is just a fraction of what it was a decade ago, a Realtor.com® study found. But changes could be on the way.Small-mortgage loans of under $100,000 account for just 2.3% of the total this year, according to Realtor.com research, a drop from 2.7% in 2025 and 3.1% in 2024. It's a far cry from when small mortgages were 9.9% of the market in 2016. The steady decline comes amid a surge in home prices.This year brings hope, though, in a new program created in the 21st Century Road to Housing Act. Among nine banking provisions aimed at making it easier to get a mortgage is a four-year pilot program to encourage small mortgages.Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner says that the move could change things. The Federal Housing Administration will oversee the program, which offers direct payments to lenders, adjusted loan terms, and loans for closing costs. The goal is more lender participation.The bill also taps the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to study how loan originator compensation structures, points, and fees combine to affect the availability of small-dollar mortgages. The bill doesn't fund the programs, though; that comes in future congressio...