Birmingham, AL metro: mortgages and home buyers
2025 home-purchase and refinance statistics for the 7-county Birmingham, AL area (OMB code 13820), from official HMDA records.
In 2025, lenders reported 11,225 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in the Birmingham, AL metro area. The median buyer borrowed $275,000 on a home valued at $315,000 and reported a household income of $98,000.
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 $4,230.
Lenders denied 8.4% of completed home-purchase applications.
Key facts
- Home buyers' median income ($98,000) is 16% lower than the U.S. median ($116,000).
- Median conventional loan costs ($4,230) were 24% lower than the U.S. median ($5,570).
- FHA loans made up 28.9% of purchase mortgages, versus 21.1% nationally.
- 30.8% 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 (35.3% of purchase loans).
- 59.0% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
- The most-cited reason for denial was debt-to-income ratio (34.2% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, AL | 5,749 | $275,000 | $97,000 | 6.625% | $4,180 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Shelby County, AL | 3,140 | $315,000 | $111,000 | 6.625% | $4,240 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| St. Clair County, AL | 1,149 | $265,000 | $87,000 | 6.500% | $4,790 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Blount County, AL | 429 | $225,000 | $89,000 | 6.750% | $4,310 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Walker County, AL | 372 | $215,000 | $84,000 | 6.750% | $4,290 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Chilton County, AL | 308 | $225,000 | $81,000 | 6.500% | $4,220 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Bibb County, AL | 76 | $215,000 | $88,000 | — | $4,480 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
Who bought homes in Birmingham
Home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family (1–4 unit) site-built homes, first liens, originated in 2025.
Values are medians; "middle half" is the 25th to 75th percentile.
Loan type
What the homes were for
All first-lien, closed-end purchase mortgages, including second homes and investors.
Borrower age
Debt-to-income ratio
Monthly debts (including the new payment) as a share of income, as used in underwriting.
What borrowing cost in Birmingham
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 | Birmingham | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| 30-year fixed rate · conventional | 6.625% | 6.625% |
| 30-year fixed rate · FHA | 6.250% | 6.250% |
| 30-year fixed rate · VA | 6.250% | 6.125% |
| 15-year fixed rate · conventional | 5.875% | 5.875% |
| Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional | +0.17 pts | +0.13 pts |
| Total loan costs · conventional | $4,230 | $5,570 |
| Total loan costs · FHA | $8,880 | $11,310 |
| Total loan costs · VA | $4,950 | $6,490 |
| Origination charges (all loan types) | $1,990 | $1,860 |
| Borrowers paying discount points | 52.8% | 51.3% |
| Points paid, when paid (% of loan) | 0.75% | 0.87% |
| Borrowers receiving lender credits | 33.7% | 33.1% |
| Adjustable-rate mortgages | 4.8% | 7.4% |
| Jumbo loans (above conforming limit) | 1.8% | 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
Birmingham: 1,059 of 12,632 completed home-purchase applications were denied (8.4%).
Denial rate
| Application | Birmingham | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Home purchase | 8.4% | 8.5% |
| Conventional | 6.3% | 7.1% |
| FHA | 11.6% | 12.5% |
| VA | 9.7% | 8.0% |
| USDA | 13.9% | 12.5% |
| Refinance | 19.4% | 17.9% |
| Cash-out refinance | 37.9% | 33.6% |
Main reason for purchase denials
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 Birmingham
Source: FFIEC/CFPB HMDA 2025 public LAR (derived MSA/MD); OMB July 2023 delineations via the U.S. Census Bureau. Methodology