Mortgage by CountyWhat home buyers actually paid, county by county

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

Metro area · Arkansas

Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metro: mortgages and home buyers

2025 home-purchase and refinance statistics for the 6-county Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR area (OMB code 30780), from official HMDA records.

In 2025, lenders reported 8,087 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metro area. The median buyer borrowed $235,000 on a home valued at $265,000 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 $4,020.

Lenders denied 8.2% of completed home-purchase applications.

Purchase loans
8,087
6 counties
Buyer income
$92,000
U.S. $116,000
Loan amount
$235,000
U.S. $335,000
Down payment
5%
U.S. 10%
30-yr fixed rate
6.625%
U.S. 6.625%
Denial rate
8.2%
Purchase · U.S. 8.5%

Key facts

  • Home buyers' median income ($92,000) is 21% lower than the U.S. median ($116,000).
  • Median conventional loan costs ($4,020) were 28% lower than the U.S. median ($5,570).
  • FHA loans made up 27.2% of purchase mortgages, versus 21.1% nationally.
  • VA loans were unusually common: 18.1% of purchase mortgages.
  • 27.7% 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 (32.3% of purchase loans).
  • 56.1% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
  • The most-cited reason for denial was debt-to-income ratio (36.6% of denials with a stated reason).

Counties in the metro area

CountyPurchase loansMedian loanBuyer income30-yr rateLoan costsConforming limitFHA limit
Pulaski County, AR3,629$235,000$92,0006.625%$4,030$832,750$541,287
Saline County, AR1,751$235,000$93,0006.625%$3,960$832,750$541,287
Faulkner County, AR1,424$235,000$94,0006.500%$4,100$832,750$541,287
Lonoke County, AR1,040$225,000$87,0006.625%$3,950$832,750$541,287
Grant County, AR170$205,000$87,0006.500%$4,030$832,750$541,287
Perry County, AR73$235,000$88,000—$3,820$832,750$541,287

Who bought homes in Little Rock

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

Purchase loans
8,087
of 8,995 applications
Buyer income
$92,000
Middle half $65,000–$137,000
Home value
$265,000
Middle half $205,000–$375,000
Loan amount
$235,000
Middle half $185,000–$325,000
Down payment
5%
27.7% put 20%+ down
Single borrower
56.1%
No co-applicant

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

Loan type

Conventional 51.1% 4,134
FHA 27.2% 2,197
VA 18.1% 1,463
USDA 3.6% 293

What the homes were for

Primary residence 94.4% 8,490
Second home 0.9% 78
Investment property 4.8% 429

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

Borrower age

Under 25 9.5%
25–34 32.3%
35–44 23.6%
45–54 15.1%
55–64 10.7%
65–74 6.6%
75 and over 2.3%

Debt-to-income ratio

Under 20% 4.4%
20–29% 16.6%
30–35% 18.5%
36–42% 25.0%
43–49% 24.8%
50–60% 10.1%
Over 60% 0.5%

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

What borrowing cost in Little Rock

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.

MeasureLittle RockU.S.
30-year fixed rate · conventional6.625%6.625%
30-year fixed rate · FHA6.250%6.250%
30-year fixed rate · VA6.250%6.125%
15-year fixed rate · conventional5.875%5.875%
Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional+0.17 pts+0.13 pts
Total loan costs · conventional$4,020$5,570
Total loan costs · FHA$8,110$11,310
Total loan costs · VA$5,210$6,490
Origination charges (all loan types)$1,780$1,860
Borrowers paying discount points49.8%51.3%
Points paid, when paid (% of loan)0.63%0.87%
Borrowers receiving lender credits32.3%33.1%
Adjustable-rate mortgages3.8%7.4%
Jumbo loans (above conforming limit)0.9%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

Little Rock: 741 of 8,995 completed home-purchase applications were denied (8.2%).

Denial rate

ApplicationLittle RockU.S.
Home purchase8.2%8.5%
Conventional7.3%7.1%
FHA10.5%12.5%
VA7.6%8.0%
USDA6.9%12.5%
Refinance16.1%17.9%
Cash-out refinance38.4%33.6%

Main reason for purchase denials

Debt-to-income ratio 36.6%
Credit history 28.4%
Collateral (appraisal/property) 9.5%
Credit application incomplete 6.8%
Other 5.9%
Insufficient cash (down payment/closing costs) 4.8%
Unverifiable information 4.5%
Employment history 3.5%

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 Little Rock

Refinances
1,767
Median loan $265,000
Refi rate
6.50%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Refi loan costs
$4,190
Conventional
Cash-out refis
1,237
Median loan $185,000
Cash-out rate
6.75%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Cash-out income
$86,000
Median borrower

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