Metro area · Alabama, Georgia

Columbus, GA-AL metro: mortgages and home buyers

2025 home-purchase and refinance statistics for the 7-county Columbus, GA-AL area (OMB code 17980), from official HMDA records.

In 2025, lenders reported 2,540 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in the Columbus, GA-AL metro area. The median buyer borrowed $265,000 on a home valued at $275,000 and reported a household income of $96,000.

Buyers financed a median 96.5% of the home's value (roughly 3.5% down), paid a median 6.625% on 30-year fixed conventional loans and faced median conventional loan costs of $5,480.

Lenders denied 7.2% of completed home-purchase applications.

Purchase loans

2,540

7 counties

Buyer income

$96,000

U.S. $116,000

Loan amount

$265,000

U.S. $335,000

Down payment

3.5%

U.S. 10%

30-yr fixed rate

6.625%

U.S. 6.625%

Denial rate

7.2%

Purchase · U.S. 8.5%

Key facts

Home buyers' median income ($96,000) is 17% lower than the U.S. median ($116,000).
VA loans were unusually common: 44.1% of purchase mortgages.
19.7% 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 (34.5% of purchase loans).
65.7% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
The most-cited reason for denial was debt-to-income ratio (33.7% 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
Muscogee County, GA	1,481	$245,000	$91,000	6.625%	$5,330	$832,750	$541,287
Russell County, AL	585	$255,000	$88,000	6.625%	$4,890	$832,750	$541,287
Harris County, GA	403	$355,000	$129,000	6.750%	$6,210	$832,750	$541,287
Marion County, GA	25	—	—	—	—	$832,750	$541,287
Talbot County, GA	23	—	—	—	—	$832,750	$541,287
Chattahoochee County, GA	14	—	—	—	—	$832,750	$541,287
Stewart County, GA	9	—	—	—	—	$832,750	$541,287

Who bought homes in Columbus

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

Purchase loans

2,540

of 2,819 applications

Buyer income

$96,000

Middle half $69,000–$132,000

Home value

$275,000

Middle half $205,000–$375,000

Loan amount

$265,000

Middle half $185,000–$345,000

Down payment

3.5%

19.7% put 20%+ down

Single borrower

65.7%

No co-applicant

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

Loan type

Conventional 30.5% 775

FHA 25.0% 634

VA 44.1% 1,119

USDA 0.5% 12

What the homes were for

Primary residence 94.9% 2,654

Second home 1.4% 38

Investment property 3.8% 106

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

Borrower age

Under 25 7.1%

25–34 34.5%

35–44 25.1%

45–54 15.4%

55–64 10.9%

65–74 5.0%

75 and over 1.9%

Debt-to-income ratio

Under 20% 3.1%

20–29% 13.8%

30–35% 14.8%

36–42% 22.8%

43–49% 26.5%

50–60% 17.7%

Over 60% 1.3%

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

What borrowing cost in Columbus

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	Columbus	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	+0.24 pts	+0.13 pts
Total loan costs · conventional	$5,480	$5,570
Total loan costs · FHA	$9,350	$11,310
Total loan costs · VA	$7,080	$6,490
Origination charges (all loan types)	$1,750	$1,860
Borrowers paying discount points	63.1%	51.3%
Points paid, when paid (% of loan)	0.85%	0.87%
Borrowers receiving lender credits	38.5%	33.1%
Adjustable-rate mortgages	1.9%	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

Columbus: 203 of 2,819 completed home-purchase applications were denied (7.2%).

Denial rate

Application	Columbus	U.S.
Home purchase	7.2%	8.5%
Conventional	6.6%	7.1%
FHA	9.3%	12.5%
VA	6.5%	8.0%
USDA	—	12.5%
Refinance	16.5%	17.9%
Cash-out refinance	41.4%	33.6%

Main reason for purchase denials

Debt-to-income ratio 33.7%

Credit history 19.3%

Collateral (appraisal/property) 15.3%

Credit application incomplete 9.4%

Insufficient cash (down payment/closing costs) 8.9%

Other 8.4%

Unverifiable information 4.5%

Employment history 0.5%

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 Columbus

Refinances

774

Median loan $275,000

Refi rate

6.50%

30-yr fixed, conv.

Refi loan costs

$5,930

Conventional

Cash-out refis

681

Median loan $195,000

Cash-out rate

6.875%

30-yr fixed, conv.

Cash-out income

$85,000

Median borrower

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