Lew Sichelman
It’s always been tougher for gig workers and hourly wage employees to qualify for a mortgage. But new research shows that people in all kinds of occupations who don’t receive regular paychecks are having a more difficult go of it.
Indeed, the study – by employment-verification company Truework – of about 300,000 lender-verified mortgage applications found that it’s no longer good enough to have the income necessary to qualify for financing. Would-be borrowers must also show their incomes are constant and dependable.
Where you live and what you do are also important, the research discovered. But income stability has become a key factor in who makes the cut and who doesn’t.
Income stability “plays a critical, often overlooked role,” the Trueway report said. Michael Tucker, in a summary of the study for the Mortgage Bankers Association, wrote that income stability is “emerging as a new gatekeeper to homeownership.”
Even small fluctuations in monthly earnings can drop a borrower below the cutoff line. So two applicants with the same yearly income, but different schedules of when that income arrives, can have different outcomes.
“It is no longer enough to earn a good income; you need to earn it predictably,” said Truework President Ethan Winchell. “For millions of Americans in service, care and hourly roles, homeownership is increasingly out of reach, not because they aren’t working hard enough, but because the system was not built to accommodate how they earn.”
Truework said this emphasis on income stability couldn’t come at a worse time: As of mid-2025, almost two-thirds of loan applicants had experienced negative fluctuations in their incomes.
“At the same time, the severity of those income swings nearly tripled” since 2022, wrote Tucker.
The change is largely driven by the increase in hourly workers, seasonal employees and commissioned-based jobs. But the study found that management, technology and finance occupations are vulnerable, too. Even in locations where houses are more affordable, the trend can limit borrowing power.
Applicants with “computer and mathematical” jobs have a 75 percent chance at qualifying practically everywhere in the country, Trueway found. But food prep workers have only a 4 percent chance in high-cost Hawaii.
‘Good Neighbor’ Meaning Changes
Want to be a good neighbor when you move to your next residence? Then mind your own business.
Neighborhoods are playing a less central role in real-world socialization, and young people are driving the trend, according to new research from the American Enterprise Institute.
“For most young people in the U.S., being a good neighbor is more about keeping your distance than about engaging with those living nearby,” reads a post on AEI’s LinkedIn page. “Seventy percent of young adults say that being a good neighbor is about not getting involved in others’ affairs, whereas 57 percent of seniors say the same. Additionally, 54 percent of Americans who attend religious services more than once a week say keeping your distance from others makes you a good neighbor, compared with 73 percent of people who never attend religious services.”
“The neighborhood is still important,” said Daniel Cox, who runs the Survey Center on American Life at AEI. “But it occupies a less central place than it once did. Young adults have experienced one of the most rapid declines in neighborly interaction – only 1 in 4 say they talk with their neighbors regularly, a drop of more than half in just over a decade.”
More First-Time Buyers Staying Put
The phrase “one and done” usually applies to college athletes who stay in school a single year before opting to join the professional ranks. But according to a new survey from BMO Financial Group, the term can now also apply to today’s homebuyers.
Because first-time buyers now are older than in generations past, the survey found, they plan to buy once and never again. A clear majority (65 percent) of aspiring homeowners expect their first home to also be their forever home. And 58 percent of non-homeowners say buying a starter home and upgrading later doesn’t make sense anymore.
“With more first-time homebuyers entering the market later in life, they are no longer looking for a starter home, but rather a house that matches their life stage and family needs,” said Paul Dilda, head of U.S. consumer strategy at BMO, in a writeup on Realtor.com.
Lew Sichelman has been covering real estate for more than 50 years. He is a regular contributor to numerous shelter magazines and housing and housing-finance industry publications. Readers can contact him at lsichelman@aol.com.
