In the 2001, 2004, and 2010 waves of the survey, about 15 to 20 percent of these households had payments that exceeded 43 percent of income, although the share spiked to 40 percent in the 2007 survey. 11 The households with high DTIs tended to have lower income, fewer financial assets, and higher mortgage loan-to-value ratios than households with lower payment ratios.
Of course, some of these households may be able to reduce their DTIs by purchasing a less expensive house or by delaying home purchase for the time it takes to pay off some existing debt. Nonetheless, the borrowers most affected by this aspect of the rule are likely also those who currently face tight access to credit, such as first-time or less-creditworthy borrowers.