Mortgage by CountyWhat home buyers actually paid, county by county

Independent analysis of official mortgage recordsHMDA 2025 · 7,155,718 applications

Michigan · Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI

Ionia County, MI: mortgages, home buyers & loan limits

What buyers in Ionia County actually borrowed, earned and paid in 2025, from the official Home Mortgage Disclosure Act records — plus the 2026 conforming and FHA loan limits.

HMDA 2025 data released June 23, 2026 · Loan limits for calendar year 2026

In 2025, lenders reported 588 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in Ionia County, MI. The median buyer borrowed $225,000 on a home valued at $255,000 and reported a household income of $85,000.

Buyers financed a median 95% of the home's value (roughly 5% down), paid a median 6.625% on 30-year fixed conventional loans and faced median conventional loan costs of $3,910.

Lenders denied 6.0% of completed home-purchase applications.

Conforming limit 2026
$832,750
1-unit home · FHFA
FHA limit 2026
$541,287
1-unit home · HUD
Buyer income
$85,000
U.S. $116,000
30-yr fixed rate
6.625%
U.S. 6.625%
Loan costs
$3,910
Conventional · U.S. $5,570
Denial rate
6.0%
Purchase · U.S. 8.5%

Key facts about Ionia County mortgages

  • Home buyers' median income ($85,000) is 27% lower than the U.S. median ($116,000).
  • Median conventional loan costs ($3,910) were 30% lower than the U.S. median ($5,570).
  • 27.9% of buyers put at least 20% down (financed 80% or less), compared with 38.5% nationally.
  • 13.5% of single-family purchase mortgages financed manufactured homes.
  • The most common age bracket among borrowers was 25–34 (38.6% of purchase loans).
  • 51.4% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
  • The most-cited reason for denial was credit application incomplete (26.3% of denials with a stated reason).

National rank among 1,994 counties with at least 100 purchase loans: median income of home buyers 1359th · median home-purchase loan 1289th · median conventional loan costs 1452nd · purchase application denial rate 1545th. See rankings.

2026 loan limits in Ionia County

PropertyConforming 2026vs 2025FHA 2026vs 2025
1 unit $832,750 +$26,250 $541,287 +$17,062
2 units $1,066,250 +$33,600 $693,050 +$21,850
3 units $1,288,800 +$40,650 $837,700 +$26,425
4 units $1,601,750 +$50,500 $1,041,125 +$32,825

2026 limits for Ionia County, MI: conforming (Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac) from FHFA; FHA forward-mortgage limits from HUD. FHA limit is at the national floor for low-cost areas. Loans above the conforming limit are "jumbo" loans.

All Michigan counties: Michigan 2026 loan limits. FHFA and HUD normally announce the next year's limits in late November.

Who bought homes in Ionia County

Home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family (1–4 unit) site-built homes, first liens, originated in 2025.

Purchase loans
588
of 633 applications
Buyer income
$85,000
Middle half $63,000–$124,000
Home value
$255,000
Middle half $195,000–$345,000
Loan amount
$225,000
Middle half $175,000–$305,000
Down payment
5%
27.9% put 20%+ down
Single borrower
51.4%
No co-applicant

Values are medians; "middle half" is the 25th to 75th percentile.

Loan type

Conventional 75.0% 441
FHA 15.5% 91
VA 7.7% 45
USDA 1.9% 11

What the homes were for

Primary residence 98.3% 682
Second home 0.9% 6
Investment property 0.9% 6

All first-lien, closed-end purchase mortgages, including second homes and investors.

Borrower age

Under 25 17.7%
25–34 38.6%
35–44 17.2%
45–54 14.3%
55–64 8.0%
65–74 3.1%
75 and over 1.2%

Debt-to-income ratio

Under 20% 1.7%
20–29% 17.2%
30–35% 22.0%
36–42% 31.0%
43–49% 23.7%
50–60% 4.4%
Over 60% 0.0%

Monthly debts (including the new payment) as a share of income, as used in underwriting.

What borrowing cost in Ionia County

Medians for 2025 home-purchase loans. Total loan costs are section D of the Loan Estimate/Closing Disclosure (lender and third-party loan charges, excluding taxes, prepaids and escrow). FHA and VA costs include the upfront mortgage insurance premium or VA funding fee, so compare like with like.

MeasureIonia CountyMichiganU.S.
30-year fixed rate · conventional6.625%6.625%6.625%
30-year fixed rate · FHA6.625%6.625%6.250%
30-year fixed rate · VA6.499%6.250%6.125%
15-year fixed rate · conventional—5.875%5.875%
Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional+0.25 pts+0.23 pts+0.13 pts
Total loan costs · conventional$3,910$4,140$5,570
Total loan costs · FHA$8,520$8,350$11,310
Total loan costs · VA$5,300$4,830$6,490
Origination charges (all loan types)$1,670$1,610$1,860
Borrowers paying discount points42.4%45.5%51.3%
Points paid, when paid (% of loan)0.62%0.56%0.87%
Borrowers receiving lender credits34.8%35.1%33.1%
Adjustable-rate mortgages3.2%7.1%7.4%
Jumbo loans (above conforming limit)0.2%1.6%3.8%

Medians are shown only when at least 30 loans report the field. Rates are those reported at closing; market rates changed during 2025, which the rate spread (APR minus the average prime offer rate on the lock date) adjusts for.

Approvals and denials

Ionia County: 38 of 633 completed home-purchase applications were denied (6.0%).

Denial rate

ApplicationIonia CountyMichiganU.S.
Home purchase6.0%7.8%8.5%
Conventional4.3%6.1%7.1%
FHA10.5%15.5%12.5%
VA11.5%9.6%8.0%
USDA—10.6%12.5%
Refinance16.6%16.0%17.9%
Cash-out refinance29.4%31.1%33.6%

Main reason for purchase denials

Credit application incomplete 26.3%
Debt-to-income ratio 21.1%
Credit history 18.4%
Collateral (appraisal/property) 15.8%
Other 10.5%
Insufficient cash (down payment/closing costs) 5.3%
Unverifiable information 2.6%

First reason the lender reported.

Denial rate = denied ÷ (originated + approved but not accepted + denied). Withdrawn and incomplete applications are excluded. Differences between places reflect who applies, not only lender behavior.

Refinancing in Ionia County

Refinances
137
Median loan $235,000
Refi rate
6.125%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Refi loan costs
$4,940
Conventional
Cash-out refis
151
Median loan $165,000
Cash-out rate
6.75%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Cash-out income
$73,000
Median borrower

Top mortgage lenders in Ionia County

109 lenders originated at least one home-purchase or refinance loan here in 2025. The table ranks them by loan count; pricing columns compare conventional purchase loans only.

#LenderLoansShareDenial rate30-yr rate*Spread*Costs*
1 Rocket Mortgage, LLC 80 9.1% 10.0% — — —
2 United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) 65 7.4% 9.4% — — —
3 Lake Michigan Credit Union 58 6.6% 0.0% 6.500% +0.01 $3,460
4 Pfcu 52 5.9% 4.7% 6.375% +0.07 $3,220
5 Mortgage 1 Incorporated 46 5.3% 0.0% 6.625% +0.32 —
6 Independent Bank 38 4.3% 0.0% — +0.16 $4,020
7 Mercantile Bank 38 4.3% 6.7% 6.625% +0.05 $3,470
8 Union Home Mortgage Corp. 32 3.6% 0.0% — — —
9 The Huntington National Bank 25 2.9% — — — —
10 GreenStone Farm Credit Services, Flca 22 2.5% — — — —
11 Veterans United Home Loans 22 2.5% 19.1% — — —
12 Consumers Credit Union 20 2.3% — — — —
13 American Pacific Mortgage Corporation 19 2.2% — — — —
14 MMS Mortgage Services, Ltd. 18 2.1% — — — —
15 Guild Mortgage Company 17 1.9% — — — —
16 Fifth Third Bank, N.A. 16 1.8% — — — —
17 The Dart Bank 15 1.7% — — — —
18 Newrez LLC 13 1.5% — — — —
19 Michigan State University Federal Credit Union 12 1.4% — — — —
20 Success Mortgage Partners, Inc. 12 1.4% — — — —
21 CrossCountry Mortgage, Inc. 12 1.4% — — — —
22 Ark-La-Tex Financial Services, LLC. 11 1.3% — — — —
23 Van Dyk Mortgage Corporation 11 1.3% — — — —
24 Pennymac Loan Services, LLC 11 1.3% — — — —
25 Northern Mortgage Services, LLC 10 1.1% — — — —

Lenders in Ionia County, MI. Loans = home-purchase, refinance and cash-out originations (2025); share = share of those loans here; denial rate = home-purchase applications. *Medians for conventional home-purchase loans, shown with at least 20 loans; spread = APR minus the average prime offer rate at rate lock (percentage points); costs = total loan costs (section D).

Check a quote for Ionia County

Typical effective property-tax rate 1.13% = median real estate taxes ÷ median home value, U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates.

Nearby counties

CountyDistancePurchase loansMedian loanBuyer incomeConforming limitFHA limit
Clinton County, MI24 mi776$285,000$111,000$832,750$541,287
Kent County, MI25 mi6,372$295,000$107,000$832,750$541,287
Montcalm County, MI26 mi594$225,000$80,000$832,750$541,287
Eaton County, MI27 mi1,029$225,000$93,000$832,750$541,287
Barry County, MI28 mi575$255,000$95,000$832,750$541,287
Gratiot County, MI34 mi299$165,000$68,000$832,750$541,287

Frequently asked questions

What is the 2026 conforming loan limit in Ionia County?

$832,750 for a one-unit home (FHFA). Two- to four-unit limits are $1,066,250, $1,288,800, $1,601,750. Loans above the limit are jumbo loans and are not eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

What is the 2026 FHA loan limit in Ionia County?

$541,287 for a one-unit home (HUD). This is the national floor for low-cost areas.

How much do home buyers in Ionia County earn?

The median household income reported on 2025 home-purchase mortgages was $85,000; the middle half of buyers reported $63,000 to $124,000.

What mortgage rate did buyers in Ionia County get in 2025?

The median rate on 30-year fixed conventional purchase loans was 6.625%; FHA borrowers paid a median 6.625%. These are rates locked during 2025; check today's rates with several lenders.

How often are mortgage applications denied in Ionia County?

6.0% of completed home-purchase applications were denied in 2025; the most common stated reason was credit application incomplete.

Sources: FFIEC/CFPB HMDA 2025 public loan/application register (Snapshot as of June 1, 2026); FHFA 2026 conforming loan limits; HUD 2026 FHA forward-mortgage limits; U.S. Census Bureau. Figures describe typical 2025 loans, not your offer. Methodology