Mortgage by CountyWhat home buyers actually paid, county by county

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

Metro area · North Carolina, South Carolina

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro: mortgages and home buyers

2025 home-purchase and refinance statistics for the 11-county Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC area (OMB code 16740), from official HMDA records.

In 2025, lenders reported 34,320 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area. The median buyer borrowed $365,000 on a home valued at $425,000 and reported a household income of $123,000.

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 $5,020.

Lenders denied 7.7% of completed home-purchase applications.

Purchase loans
34,320
11 counties
Buyer income
$123,000
U.S. $116,000
Loan amount
$365,000
U.S. $335,000
Down payment
10%
U.S. 10%
30-yr fixed rate
6.50%
U.S. 6.625%
Denial rate
7.7%
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 ($5,020) were 10% lower than the U.S. median ($5,570).
  • The most common age bracket among borrowers was 25–34 (32.8% of purchase loans).
  • 55.1% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
  • The most-cited reason for denial was debt-to-income ratio (44.7% of denials with a stated reason).

Counties in the metro area

CountyPurchase loansMedian loanBuyer income30-yr rateLoan costsConforming limitFHA limit
Mecklenburg County, NC12,771$395,000$140,0006.500%$5,090$832,750$541,287
York County, SC4,114$355,000$121,0006.500%$5,090$832,750$541,287
Union County, NC3,413$405,000$136,0006.540%$5,180$832,750$541,287
Cabarrus County, NC2,874$365,000$122,0006.625%$5,140$832,750$541,287
Gaston County, NC3,229$305,000$100,0006.575%$4,830$832,750$541,287
Iredell County, NC2,788$345,000$117,0006.500%$4,810$832,750$541,287
Lancaster County, SC1,803$355,000$120,0006.625%$4,780$832,750$541,287
Rowan County, NC1,620$285,000$89,0006.500%$5,030$832,750$541,287
Lincoln County, NC1,191$355,000$121,0006.622%$4,870$832,750$541,287
Chester County, SC396$285,000$84,0006.625%$4,960$832,750$541,287
Anson County, NC120$205,000$76,0006.750%$4,010$832,750$541,287

Who bought homes in Charlotte

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

Purchase loans
34,320
of 38,363 applications
Buyer income
$123,000
Middle half $84,000–$188,000
Home value
$425,000
Middle half $325,000–$605,000
Loan amount
$365,000
Middle half $275,000–$495,000
Down payment
10%
39.8% put 20%+ down
Single borrower
55.1%
No co-applicant

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

Loan type

Conventional 73.7% 25,277
FHA 18.1% 6,209
VA 7.7% 2,656
USDA 0.5% 178

What the homes were for

Primary residence 95.8% 35,271
Second home 1.4% 524
Investment property 2.8% 1,025

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

Borrower age

Under 25 5.1%
25–34 32.8%
35–44 26.6%
45–54 16.9%
55–64 11.7%
65–74 5.2%
75 and over 1.8%

Debt-to-income ratio

Under 20% 4.2%
20–29% 15.2%
30–35% 16.3%
36–42% 26.5%
43–49% 29.0%
50–60% 8.3%
Over 60% 0.5%

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

What borrowing cost in Charlotte

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.

MeasureCharlotteU.S.
30-year fixed rate · conventional6.500%6.625%
30-year fixed rate · FHA6.125%6.250%
30-year fixed rate · VA6.125%6.125%
15-year fixed rate · conventional5.750%5.875%
Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional+0.06 pts+0.13 pts
Total loan costs · conventional$5,020$5,570
Total loan costs · FHA$11,150$11,310
Total loan costs · VA$5,260$6,490
Origination charges (all loan types)$1,940$1,860
Borrowers paying discount points53.5%51.3%
Points paid, when paid (% of loan)0.99%0.87%
Borrowers receiving lender credits31.9%33.1%
Adjustable-rate mortgages12.8%7.4%
Jumbo loans (above conforming limit)5.3%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

Charlotte: 2,967 of 38,363 completed home-purchase applications were denied (7.7%).

Denial rate

ApplicationCharlotteU.S.
Home purchase7.7%8.5%
Conventional6.2%7.1%
FHA13.3%12.5%
VA8.0%8.0%
USDA14.0%12.5%
Refinance15.0%17.9%
Cash-out refinance32.0%33.6%

Main reason for purchase denials

Debt-to-income ratio 44.7%
Credit history 13.9%
Other 9.6%
Collateral (appraisal/property) 9.4%
Credit application incomplete 7.3%
Unverifiable information 7.0%
Insufficient cash (down payment/closing costs) 5.2%
Employment history 2.8%

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 Charlotte

Refinances
7,844
Median loan $385,000
Refi rate
6.25%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Refi loan costs
$4,890
Conventional
Cash-out refis
6,401
Median loan $265,000
Cash-out rate
6.75%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Cash-out income
$90,000
Median borrower

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