Columbia, SC metro: mortgages and home buyers
2025 home-purchase and refinance statistics for the 6-county Columbia, SC area (OMB code 17900), from official HMDA records.
In 2025, lenders reported 10,370 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in the Columbia, SC metro area. The median buyer borrowed $265,000 on a home valued at $285,000 and reported a household income of $92,000.
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 $5,090.
Lenders denied 8.3% of completed home-purchase applications.
Key facts
- Home buyers' median income ($92,000) is 21% lower than the U.S. median ($116,000).
- Median conventional loan costs ($5,090) were 9% lower than the U.S. median ($5,570).
- VA loans were unusually common: 24.1% of purchase mortgages.
- 26.6% 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 (31.0% of purchase loans).
- 65.0% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
- The most-cited reason for denial was debt-to-income ratio (40.1% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richland County, SC | 5,156 | $265,000 | $91,000 | 6.620% | $4,990 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Lexington County, SC | 4,130 | $265,000 | $94,000 | 6.625% | $5,170 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Kershaw County, SC | 806 | $275,000 | $89,000 | 6.624% | $4,970 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Fairfield County, SC | 113 | $255,000 | $96,000 | 6.750% | $5,430 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Saluda County, SC | 85 | $305,000 | $97,000 | 6.500% | $6,650 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Calhoun County, SC | 80 | $285,000 | $95,000 | — | $6,160 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
Who bought homes in Columbia
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 Columbia
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 | Columbia | 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 | 5.750% | 5.875% |
| Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional | +0.18 pts | +0.13 pts |
| Total loan costs · conventional | $5,090 | $5,570 |
| Total loan costs · FHA | $10,030 | $11,310 |
| Total loan costs · VA | $6,250 | $6,490 |
| Origination charges (all loan types) | $1,930 | $1,860 |
| Borrowers paying discount points | 55.9% | 51.3% |
| Points paid, when paid (% of loan) | 0.98% | 0.87% |
| Borrowers receiving lender credits | 30.4% | 33.1% |
| Adjustable-rate mortgages | 4.2% | 7.4% |
| Jumbo loans (above conforming limit) | 1.2% | 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
Columbia: 980 of 11,747 completed home-purchase applications were denied (8.3%).
Denial rate
| Application | Columbia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Home purchase | 8.3% | 8.5% |
| Conventional | 5.8% | 7.1% |
| FHA | 12.9% | 12.5% |
| VA | 7.8% | 8.0% |
| USDA | 15.2% | 12.5% |
| Refinance | 17.1% | 17.9% |
| Cash-out refinance | 35.5% | 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 Columbia
Source: FFIEC/CFPB HMDA 2025 public LAR (derived MSA/MD); OMB July 2023 delineations via the U.S. Census Bureau. Methodology