Mortgage by CountyWhat home buyers actually paid, county by county

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

Metro area · Georgia

Albany, GA metro: mortgages and home buyers

2025 home-purchase and refinance statistics for the 4-county Albany, GA area (OMB code 10500), from official HMDA records.

In 2025, lenders reported 800 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in the Albany, GA metro area. The median buyer borrowed $225,000 on a home valued at $245,000 and reported a household income of $86,000.

Buyers financed a median 96.5% of the home's value (roughly 3.5% down), paid a median 6.625% on 30-year fixed conventional loans and faced median conventional loan costs of $5,090.

Lenders denied 9.8% of completed home-purchase applications.

Purchase loans
800
4 counties
Buyer income
$86,000
U.S. $116,000
Loan amount
$225,000
U.S. $335,000
Down payment
3.5%
U.S. 10%
30-yr fixed rate
6.625%
U.S. 6.625%
Denial rate
9.8%
Purchase · U.S. 8.5%

Key facts

  • Home buyers' median income ($86,000) is 26% lower than the U.S. median ($116,000).
  • Median conventional loan costs ($5,090) were 9% lower than the U.S. median ($5,570).
  • FHA loans made up 40.1% of purchase mortgages, versus 21.1% nationally.
  • VA loans were unusually common: 21.8% of purchase mortgages.
  • 20.2% of buyers put at least 20% down (financed 80% or less), compared with 38.5% nationally.
  • 10.3% of first-lien purchase mortgages were for investment properties.
  • The most common age bracket among borrowers was 25–34 (28.0% of purchase loans).
  • 67.9% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
  • The most-cited reason for denial was debt-to-income ratio (43.0% of denials with a stated reason).

Counties in the metro area

CountyPurchase loansMedian loanBuyer income30-yr rateLoan costsConforming limitFHA limit
Dougherty County, GA357$195,000$76,0006.625%$4,650$832,750$541,287
Lee County, GA347$265,000$100,0006.625%$5,500$832,750$541,287
Worth County, GA64$185,000$86,000——$832,750$541,287
Terrell County, GA32$145,000$63,000——$832,750$541,287

Who bought homes in Albany

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

Purchase loans
800
of 903 applications
Buyer income
$86,000
Middle half $61,000–$126,000
Home value
$245,000
Middle half $185,000–$335,000
Loan amount
$225,000
Middle half $165,000–$305,000
Down payment
3.5%
20.2% put 20%+ down
Single borrower
67.9%
No co-applicant

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

Loan type

Conventional 35.8% 286
FHA 40.1% 321
VA 21.8% 174
USDA 2.4% 19

What the homes were for

Primary residence 88.6% 880
Second home 1.1% 11
Investment property 10.3% 102

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

Borrower age

Under 25 6.6%
25–34 28.0%
35–44 25.6%
45–54 19.4%
55–64 11.4%
65–74 6.3%
75 and over 2.8%

Debt-to-income ratio

Under 20% 3.6%
20–29% 10.9%
30–35% 13.6%
36–42% 23.2%
43–49% 29.6%
50–60% 18.3%
Over 60% 0.8%

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

What borrowing cost in Albany

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.

MeasureAlbanyU.S.
30-year fixed rate · conventional6.625%6.625%
30-year fixed rate · FHA6.250%6.250%
30-year fixed rate · VA6.250%6.125%
15-year fixed rate · conventional—5.875%
Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional+0.24 pts+0.13 pts
Total loan costs · conventional$5,090$5,570
Total loan costs · FHA$9,730$11,310
Total loan costs · VA$4,450$6,490
Origination charges (all loan types)$2,400$1,860
Borrowers paying discount points59.0%51.3%
Points paid, when paid (% of loan)0.98%0.87%
Borrowers receiving lender credits33.1%33.1%
Adjustable-rate mortgages0.9%7.4%
Jumbo loans (above conforming limit)0.5%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

Albany: 88 of 903 completed home-purchase applications were denied (9.8%).

Denial rate

ApplicationAlbanyU.S.
Home purchase9.8%8.5%
Conventional8.2%7.1%
FHA11.4%12.5%
VA9.2%8.0%
USDA—12.5%
Refinance17.3%17.9%
Cash-out refinance38.3%33.6%

Main reason for purchase denials

Debt-to-income ratio 43.0%
Credit history 19.8%
Credit application incomplete 11.6%
Insufficient cash (down payment/closing costs) 8.1%
Collateral (appraisal/property) 5.8%
Unverifiable information 4.7%
Other 4.7%
Employment history 2.3%

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 Albany

Refinances
264
Median loan $215,000
Refi rate
6.50%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Refi loan costs
$4,930
Conventional
Cash-out refis
254
Median loan $165,000
Cash-out rate
6.99%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Cash-out income
$72,000
Median borrower

Source: FFIEC/CFPB HMDA 2025 public LAR (derived MSA/MD); OMB July 2023 delineations via the U.S. Census Bureau. Methodology