Mortgage by CountyWhat home buyers actually paid, county by county

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

Metro area · Minnesota

Rochester, MN metro: mortgages and home buyers

2025 home-purchase and refinance statistics for the 4-county Rochester, MN area (OMB code 40340), from official HMDA records.

In 2025, lenders reported 2,381 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in the Rochester, MN metro area. The median buyer borrowed $285,000 on a home valued at $345,000 and reported a household income of $104,000.

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 $4,990.

Lenders denied 4.6% of completed home-purchase applications.

Purchase loans
2,381
4 counties
Buyer income
$104,000
U.S. $116,000
Loan amount
$285,000
U.S. $335,000
Down payment
10%
U.S. 10%
30-yr fixed rate
6.50%
U.S. 6.625%
Denial rate
4.6%
Purchase · U.S. 8.5%

Key facts

  • Home buyers' median income ($104,000) is 10% lower than the U.S. median ($116,000).
  • The median 30-year fixed conventional rate here was 13 basis points below the U.S. median (6.625%).
  • Median conventional loan costs ($4,990) were 10% lower than the U.S. median ($5,570).
  • FHA loans made up 8.4% of purchase mortgages, versus 21.1% nationally.
  • The most common age bracket among borrowers was 25–34 (37.2% of purchase loans).
  • 48.6% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
  • The most-cited reason for denial was debt-to-income ratio (30.3% of denials with a stated reason).

Counties in the metro area

CountyPurchase loansMedian loanBuyer income30-yr rateLoan costsConforming limitFHA limit
Olmsted County, MN1,772$295,000$109,0006.500%$5,020$832,750$541,287
Dodge County, MN217$285,000$101,0006.500%$5,200$832,750$541,287
Wabasha County, MN207$265,000$91,0006.500%$4,820$832,750$541,287
Fillmore County, MN185$205,000$80,0006.500%$4,270$832,750$541,287

Who bought homes in Rochester

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

Purchase loans
2,381
of 2,537 applications
Buyer income
$104,000
Middle half $74,000–$158,000
Home value
$345,000
Middle half $265,000–$475,000
Loan amount
$285,000
Middle half $215,000–$385,000
Down payment
10%
39.0% put 20%+ down
Single borrower
48.6%
No co-applicant

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

Loan type

Conventional 85.3% 2,031
FHA 8.4% 199
VA 5.6% 134
USDA 0.7% 17

What the homes were for

Primary residence 93.7% 2,458
Second home 1.3% 33
Investment property 5.1% 133

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

Borrower age

Under 25 11.7%
25–34 37.2%
35–44 24.2%
45–54 12.4%
55–64 8.3%
65–74 4.7%
75 and over 1.5%

Debt-to-income ratio

Under 20% 5.2%
20–29% 17.4%
30–35% 17.8%
36–42% 26.5%
43–49% 29.1%
50–60% 3.7%
Over 60% 0.4%

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

What borrowing cost in Rochester

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.

MeasureRochesterU.S.
30-year fixed rate · conventional6.500%6.625%
30-year fixed rate · FHA6.500%6.250%
30-year fixed rate · VA6.125%6.125%
15-year fixed rate · conventional5.750%5.875%
Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional+0.04 pts+0.13 pts
Total loan costs · conventional$4,990$5,570
Total loan costs · FHA$9,880$11,310
Total loan costs · VA$4,710$6,490
Origination charges (all loan types)$2,550$1,860
Borrowers paying discount points46.4%51.3%
Points paid, when paid (% of loan)0.74%0.87%
Borrowers receiving lender credits30.4%33.1%
Adjustable-rate mortgages6.5%7.4%
Jumbo loans (above conforming limit)3.2%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

Rochester: 116 of 2,537 completed home-purchase applications were denied (4.6%).

Denial rate

ApplicationRochesterU.S.
Home purchase4.6%8.5%
Conventional4.1%7.1%
FHA7.4%12.5%
VA6.9%8.0%
USDA—12.5%
Refinance15.4%17.9%
Cash-out refinance29.2%33.6%

Main reason for purchase denials

Debt-to-income ratio 30.3%
Collateral (appraisal/property) 21.1%
Credit history 15.6%
Other 15.6%
Unverifiable information 5.5%
Insufficient cash (down payment/closing costs) 4.6%
Credit application incomplete 4.6%
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 Rochester

Refinances
380
Median loan $275,000
Refi rate
6.125%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Refi loan costs
$4,330
Conventional
Cash-out refis
305
Median loan $215,000
Cash-out rate
6.875%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Cash-out income
$91,000
Median borrower

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