Metro area · Iowa

Ames, IA metro: mortgages and home buyers

2025 home-purchase and refinance statistics for the 2-county Ames, IA area (OMB code 11180), from official HMDA records.

In 2025, lenders reported 1,037 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in the Ames, IA metro area. The median buyer borrowed $235,000 on a home valued at $275,000 and reported a household income of $97,000.

Buyers financed a median 90% of the home's value (roughly 10% down), paid a median 6.50% on 30-year fixed conventional loans and faced median conventional loan costs of $2,620.

Lenders denied 5.1% of completed home-purchase applications.

Purchase loans

1,037

2 counties

Buyer income

$97,000

U.S. $116,000

Loan amount

$235,000

U.S. $335,000

Down payment

10%

U.S. 10%

30-yr fixed rate

6.50%

U.S. 6.625%

Denial rate

5.1%

Purchase · U.S. 8.5%

Key facts

Home buyers' median income ($97,000) is 16% lower than the U.S. median ($116,000).
The median 30-year fixed conventional rate here was 13 basis points below the U.S. median (6.625%).
Median conventional loan costs ($2,620) were 53% lower than the U.S. median ($5,570).
FHA loans made up 9.5% of purchase mortgages, versus 21.1% nationally.
The most common age bracket among borrowers was 25–34 (36.1% of purchase loans).
45.3% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
The most-cited reason for denial was debt-to-income ratio (30.2% of denials with a stated reason).

Counties in the metro area

County	Purchase loans	Median loan	Buyer income	30-yr rate	Loan costs	Conforming limit	FHA limit
Story County, IA	764	$255,000	$103,000	6.500%	$2,580	$832,750	$541,287
Boone County, IA	273	$205,000	$84,000	6.500%	$2,760	$832,750	$541,287

Who bought homes in Ames

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

Purchase loans

1,037

of 1,121 applications

Buyer income

$97,000

Middle half $69,000–$147,000

Home value

$275,000

Middle half $215,000–$395,000

Loan amount

$235,000

Middle half $175,000–$325,000

Down payment

10%

41.2% put 20%+ down

Single borrower

45.3%

No co-applicant

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

Loan type

Conventional 81.1% 841

FHA 9.5% 99

VA 6.9% 72

USDA 2.4% 25

What the homes were for

Primary residence 91.7% 1,091

Second home 1.2% 14

Investment property 7.1% 85

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

Borrower age

Under 25 13.9%

25–34 36.1%

35–44 22.5%

45–54 13.5%

55–64 6.9%

65–74 5.6%

75 and over 1.4%

Debt-to-income ratio

Under 20% 4.1%

20–29% 18.5%

30–35% 19.0%

36–42% 27.7%

43–49% 26.5%

50–60% 4.0%

Over 60% 0.2%

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

What borrowing cost in Ames

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.

Measure	Ames	U.S.
30-year fixed rate · conventional	6.500%	6.625%
30-year fixed rate · FHA	6.625%	6.250%
30-year fixed rate · VA	6.250%	6.125%
15-year fixed rate · conventional	5.750%	5.875%
Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional	+0.01 pts	+0.13 pts
Total loan costs · conventional	$2,620	$5,570
Total loan costs · FHA	$7,760	$11,310
Total loan costs · VA	$4,000	$6,490
Origination charges (all loan types)	$1,250	$1,860
Borrowers paying discount points	25.1%	51.3%
Points paid, when paid (% of loan)	0.50%	0.87%
Borrowers receiving lender credits	36.1%	33.1%
Adjustable-rate mortgages	5.6%	7.4%
Jumbo loans (above conforming limit)	0.8%	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

Ames: 57 of 1,121 completed home-purchase applications were denied (5.1%).

Denial rate

Application	Ames	U.S.
Home purchase	5.1%	8.5%
Conventional	4.2%	7.1%
FHA	12.0%	12.5%
VA	5.1%	8.0%
USDA	—	12.5%
Refinance	15.0%	17.9%
Cash-out refinance	34.2%	33.6%

Main reason for purchase denials

Debt-to-income ratio 30.2%

Credit application incomplete 20.8%

Collateral (appraisal/property) 17.0%

Credit history 9.4%

Insufficient cash (down payment/closing costs) 7.5%

Unverifiable information 5.7%

Other 5.7%

Employment history 3.8%

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 Ames

Refinances

233

Median loan $275,000

Refi rate

6.125%

30-yr fixed, conv.

Refi loan costs

$2,250

Conventional

Cash-out refis

143

Median loan $175,000

Cash-out rate

6.875%

30-yr fixed, conv.

Cash-out income

$95,000

Median borrower

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