Metro area · Georgia

Athens-Clarke County, GA metro: mortgages and home buyers

2025 home-purchase and refinance statistics for the 4-county Athens-Clarke County, GA area (OMB code 12020), from official HMDA records.

In 2025, lenders reported 1,471 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area. The median buyer borrowed $335,000 on a home valued at $395,000 and reported a household income of $120,000.

Buyers financed a median 85% of the home's value (roughly 15% down), paid a median 6.50% on 30-year fixed conventional loans and faced median conventional loan costs of $6,390.

Lenders denied 6.9% of completed home-purchase applications.

Purchase loans

1,471

4 counties

Buyer income

$120,000

U.S. $116,000

Loan amount

$335,000

U.S. $335,000

Down payment

15%

U.S. 10%

30-yr fixed rate

6.50%

U.S. 6.625%

Denial rate

6.9%

Purchase · U.S. 8.5%

Key facts

The median 30-year fixed conventional rate here was 13 basis points below the U.S. median (6.625%).
Median conventional loan costs ($6,390) were 15% higher than the U.S. median ($5,570).
45.7% 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 (34.0% of purchase loans).
49.3% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
The most-cited reason for denial was debt-to-income ratio (35.8% 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
Clarke County, GA	686	$295,000	$110,000	6.500%	$6,240	$832,750	$616,400
Oconee County, GA	445	$475,000	$159,000	6.500%	$6,490	$832,750	$616,400
Madison County, GA	227	$305,000	$100,000	6.625%	$6,620	$832,750	$616,400
Oglethorpe County, GA	112	$305,000	$104,000	6.500%	$6,020	$832,750	$616,400

Who bought homes in Athens

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

Purchase loans

1,471

of 1,614 applications

Buyer income

$120,000

Middle half $83,000–$183,000

Home value

$395,000

Middle half $315,000–$565,000

Loan amount

$335,000

Middle half $265,000–$445,000

Down payment

15%

45.7% put 20%+ down

Single borrower

49.3%

No co-applicant

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

Loan type

Conventional 73.3% 1,078

FHA 18.3% 269

VA 7.5% 110

USDA 1.0% 14

What the homes were for

Primary residence 89.0% 1,588

Second home 3.1% 56

Investment property 7.9% 141

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

Borrower age

Under 25 7.2%

25–34 34.0%

35–44 26.5%

45–54 15.8%

55–64 9.3%

65–74 5.0%

75 and over 2.2%

Debt-to-income ratio

Under 20% 5.2%

20–29% 16.6%

30–35% 17.9%

36–42% 25.4%

43–49% 27.9%

50–60% 6.8%

Over 60% 0.2%

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

What borrowing cost in Athens

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	Athens	U.S.
30-year fixed rate · conventional	6.500%	6.625%
30-year fixed rate · FHA	6.249%	6.250%
30-year fixed rate · VA	6.125%	6.125%
15-year fixed rate · conventional	5.625%	5.875%
Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional	+0.06 pts	+0.13 pts
Total loan costs · conventional	$6,390	$5,570
Total loan costs · FHA	$12,550	$11,310
Total loan costs · VA	$5,700	$6,490
Origination charges (all loan types)	$2,960	$1,860
Borrowers paying discount points	58.2%	51.3%
Points paid, when paid (% of loan)	0.75%	0.87%
Borrowers receiving lender credits	38.3%	33.1%
Adjustable-rate mortgages	5.7%	7.4%
Jumbo loans (above conforming limit)	3.2%	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

Athens: 112 of 1,614 completed home-purchase applications were denied (6.9%).

Denial rate

Application	Athens	U.S.
Home purchase	6.9%	8.5%
Conventional	5.3%	7.1%
FHA	11.7%	12.5%
VA	8.3%	8.0%
USDA	—	12.5%
Refinance	17.4%	17.9%
Cash-out refinance	28.3%	33.6%

Main reason for purchase denials

Debt-to-income ratio 35.8%

Collateral (appraisal/property) 22.9%

Credit history 9.2%

Credit application incomplete 9.2%

Other 9.2%

Insufficient cash (down payment/closing costs) 6.4%

Unverifiable information 5.5%

Employment history 1.8%

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 Athens

Refinances

340

Median loan $315,000

Refi rate

6.25%

30-yr fixed, conv.

Refi loan costs

$5,920

Conventional

Cash-out refis

380

Median loan $255,000

Cash-out rate

6.75%

30-yr fixed, conv.

Cash-out income

$92,000

Median borrower

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