Mortgage by CountyWhat home buyers actually paid, county by county

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

Ohio

Seneca County, OH: mortgages, home buyers & loan limits

What buyers in Seneca 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 388 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in Seneca County, OH. The median buyer borrowed $155,000 on a home valued at $165,000 and reported a household income of $67,000.

Buyers financed a median 95% of the home's value (roughly 5% down), paid a median 6.75% on 30-year fixed conventional loans and faced median conventional loan costs of $3,830.

Lenders denied 8.5% 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
$67,000
U.S. $116,000
30-yr fixed rate
6.75%
U.S. 6.625%
Loan costs
$3,830
Conventional · U.S. $5,570
Denial rate
8.5%
Purchase · U.S. 8.5%

Key facts about Seneca County mortgages

  • Home buyers' median income ($67,000) is 29% lower than the Ohio median ($94,000).
  • The median 30-year fixed conventional rate here was 13 basis points above the U.S. median (6.625%).
  • Median conventional loan costs ($3,830) were 31% lower than the U.S. median ($5,570).
  • 21.2% of buyers put at least 20% down (financed 80% or less), compared with 38.5% nationally.
  • The most common age bracket among borrowers was 25–34 (36.1% of purchase loans).
  • 62.3% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
  • The most-cited reason for denial was collateral (appraisal/property) (25.7% of denials with a stated reason).

National rank among 1,994 counties with at least 100 purchase loans: median income of home buyers 1961st · median home-purchase loan 1908th · median conventional loan costs 1503rd · purchase application denial rate 860th. See rankings.

2026 loan limits in Seneca 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 Seneca County, OH: 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 Ohio counties: Ohio 2026 loan limits. FHFA and HUD normally announce the next year's limits in late November.

Who bought homes in Seneca County

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

Purchase loans
388
of 436 applications
Buyer income
$67,000
Middle half $51,000–$101,000
Home value
$165,000
Middle half $135,000–$245,000
Loan amount
$155,000
Middle half $115,000–$215,000
Down payment
5%
21.2% put 20%+ down
Single borrower
62.3%
No co-applicant

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

Loan type

Conventional 61.6% 239
FHA 26.0% 101
VA 8.0% 31
USDA 4.4% 17

What the homes were for

Primary residence 96.6% 399
Second home 0.7% 3
Investment property 2.7% 11

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

Borrower age

Under 25 20.4%
25–34 36.1%
35–44 19.3%
45–54 12.1%
55–64 8.5%
65–74 3.1%
75 and over 0.5%

Debt-to-income ratio

Under 20% 5.2%
20–29% 17.6%
30–35% 16.1%
36–42% 26.5%
43–49% 28.2%
50–60% 6.1%
Over 60% 0.3%

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

What borrowing cost in Seneca 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.

MeasureSeneca CountyOhioU.S.
30-year fixed rate · conventional6.750%6.625%6.625%
30-year fixed rate · FHA6.625%6.575%6.250%
30-year fixed rate · VA6.598%6.250%6.125%
15-year fixed rate · conventional—5.875%5.875%
Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional+0.42 pts+0.22 pts+0.13 pts
Total loan costs · conventional$3,830$4,610$5,570
Total loan costs · FHA$7,090$9,160$11,310
Total loan costs · VA$4,000$5,600$6,490
Origination charges (all loan types)$1,750$1,780$1,860
Borrowers paying discount points54.2%51.4%51.3%
Points paid, when paid (% of loan)0.52%0.76%0.87%
Borrowers receiving lender credits30.3%33.5%33.1%
Adjustable-rate mortgages1.0%7.2%7.4%
Jumbo loans (above conforming limit)0.0%1.3%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

Seneca County: 37 of 436 completed home-purchase applications were denied (8.5%).

Denial rate

ApplicationSeneca CountyOhioU.S.
Home purchase8.5%7.1%8.5%
Conventional7.5%5.7%7.1%
FHA9.7%11.4%12.5%
VA8.6%8.2%8.0%
USDA—9.5%12.5%
Refinance16.5%16.4%17.9%
Cash-out refinance38.9%33.3%33.6%

Main reason for purchase denials

Collateral (appraisal/property) 25.7%
Credit history 22.9%
Credit application incomplete 14.3%
Debt-to-income ratio 11.4%
Unverifiable information 11.4%
Insufficient cash (down payment/closing costs) 8.6%
Other 5.7%

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 Seneca County

Refinances
64
Median loan $175,000
Refi rate
—
30-yr fixed, conv.
Refi loan costs
—
Conventional
Cash-out refis
82
Median loan $135,000
Cash-out rate
—
30-yr fixed, conv.
Cash-out income
$70,000
Median borrower

Top mortgage lenders in Seneca County

83 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 loanDepot.com, LLC 167 31.3% 2.0% 6.875% +0.51 $3,950
2 Rocket Mortgage, LLC 49 9.2% 18.2% — — —
3 Ag Credit Agricultural Credit Association 26 4.9% 0.0% — +0.26 $3,040
4 The Old Fort Banking Company 26 4.9% 3.7% — — —
5 Fifth Third Bank, N.A. 19 3.6% — — — —
6 United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) 17 3.2% — — — —
7 U.S. Bank, N.A. 17 3.2% — — — —
8 Veterans United Home Loans 13 2.4% — — — —
9 The Huntington National Bank 12 2.3% — — — —
10 Union Home Mortgage Corp. 12 2.3% — — — —
11 WesBanco Bank, Inc. 10 1.9% — — — —
12 Rate 9 1.7% — — — —
13 Superior Credit Union, Inc. 8 1.5% — — — —
14 The Croghan Colonial Bank 8 1.5% — — — —
15 First Federal Bank of Ohio 7 1.3% — — — —
16 Newrez LLC 7 1.3% — — — —
17 CrossCountry Mortgage, Inc. 7 1.3% — — — —
18 Polaris Home Funding Corp. 6 1.1% — — — —
19 PNC Bank, N.A. 5 0.9% — — — —
20 Pennymac Loan Services, LLC 5 0.9% — — — —
21 Planet Home Lending, LLC 4 0.8% — — — —
22 Click n' Close, Inc. 4 0.8% — — — —
23 New American Funding 4 0.8% — — — —
24 Mr. Cooper 4 0.8% — — — —
25 Fremont Federal Credit Union 4 0.8% — — — —

Lenders in Seneca County, OH. 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 Seneca County

Typical effective property-tax rate 1.03% = 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
Sandusky County, OH16 mi508$165,000$69,000$832,750$541,287
Crawford County, OH22 mi320$155,000$66,000$832,750$541,287
Wyandot County, OH22 mi135$165,000$78,000$832,750$541,287
Huron County, OH28 mi401$175,000$75,000$832,750$541,287
Hancock County, OH29 mi749$205,000$82,000$832,750$541,287
Ottawa County, OH30 mi334$195,000$88,000$832,750$541,287

Frequently asked questions

What is the 2026 conforming loan limit in Seneca 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 Seneca County?

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

How much do home buyers in Seneca County earn?

The median household income reported on 2025 home-purchase mortgages was $67,000; the middle half of buyers reported $51,000 to $101,000.

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

The median rate on 30-year fixed conventional purchase loans was 6.75%; 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 Seneca County?

8.5% of completed home-purchase applications were denied in 2025; the most common stated reason was collateral (appraisal/property).

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