Mortgage by CountyWhat home buyers actually paid, county by county

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

Metro area · Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota

Sioux City, IA-NE-SD metro: mortgages and home buyers

2025 home-purchase and refinance statistics for the 3-county Sioux City, IA-NE-SD area (OMB code 43580), from official HMDA records.

In 2025, lenders reported 1,161 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in the Sioux City, IA-NE-SD metro area. The median buyer borrowed $215,000 on a home valued at $245,000 and reported a household income of $87,000.

Buyers financed a median 95% of the home's value (roughly 5% down), paid a median 6.50% on 30-year fixed conventional loans and faced median conventional loan costs of $4,230.

Lenders denied 8.7% of completed home-purchase applications.

Purchase loans
1,161
3 counties
Buyer income
$87,000
U.S. $116,000
Loan amount
$215,000
U.S. $335,000
Down payment
5%
U.S. 10%
30-yr fixed rate
6.50%
U.S. 6.625%
Denial rate
8.7%
Purchase · U.S. 8.5%

Key facts

  • Home buyers' median income ($87,000) is 25% 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 ($4,230) were 24% lower than the U.S. median ($5,570).
  • 28.7% of buyers put at least 20% down (financed 80% or less), compared with 38.5% nationally.
  • 13.1% of first-lien purchase mortgages were for investment properties.
  • The most common age bracket among borrowers was 25–34 (35.4% of purchase loans).
  • 53.0% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
  • The most-cited reason for denial was debt-to-income ratio (31.4% of denials with a stated reason).

Counties in the metro area

CountyPurchase loansMedian loanBuyer income30-yr rateLoan costsConforming limitFHA limit
Woodbury County, IA871$205,000$84,0006.500%$4,210$832,750$541,287
Union County, SD167$305,000$117,0006.575%$4,540$832,750$541,287
Dakota County, NE123$255,000$87,0006.500%$4,070$832,750$541,287

Who bought homes in Sioux City

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

Purchase loans
1,161
of 1,282 applications
Buyer income
$87,000
Middle half $61,000–$124,000
Home value
$245,000
Middle half $185,000–$345,000
Loan amount
$215,000
Middle half $165,000–$295,000
Down payment
5%
28.7% put 20%+ down
Single borrower
53.0%
No co-applicant

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

Loan type

Conventional 74.9% 870
FHA 17.1% 198
VA 7.6% 88
USDA 0.4% 5

What the homes were for

Primary residence 86.1% 1,219
Second home 0.8% 11
Investment property 13.1% 185

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

Borrower age

Under 25 13.5%
25–34 35.4%
35–44 24.7%
45–54 11.9%
55–64 9.3%
65–74 4.2%
75 and over 0.9%

Debt-to-income ratio

Under 20% 2.4%
20–29% 15.3%
30–35% 16.7%
36–42% 29.6%
43–49% 31.3%
50–60% 4.6%
Over 60% 0.2%

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

What borrowing cost in Sioux City

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.

MeasureSioux CityU.S.
30-year fixed rate · conventional6.500%6.625%
30-year fixed rate · FHA6.375%6.250%
30-year fixed rate · VA6.250%6.125%
15-year fixed rate · conventional—5.875%
Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional+0.13 pts+0.13 pts
Total loan costs · conventional$4,230$5,570
Total loan costs · FHA$8,320$11,310
Total loan costs · VA$5,810$6,490
Origination charges (all loan types)$2,070$1,860
Borrowers paying discount points33.1%51.3%
Points paid, when paid (% of loan)0.55%0.87%
Borrowers receiving lender credits33.5%33.1%
Adjustable-rate mortgages6.9%7.4%
Jumbo loans (above conforming limit)0.3%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

Sioux City: 111 of 1,282 completed home-purchase applications were denied (8.7%).

Denial rate

ApplicationSioux CityU.S.
Home purchase8.7%8.5%
Conventional6.9%7.1%
FHA15.0%12.5%
VA8.3%8.0%
USDA—12.5%
Refinance22.9%17.9%
Cash-out refinance35.9%33.6%

Main reason for purchase denials

Debt-to-income ratio 31.4%
Credit history 17.6%
Collateral (appraisal/property) 15.7%
Other 10.8%
Credit application incomplete 9.8%
Insufficient cash (down payment/closing costs) 6.9%
Unverifiable information 4.9%
Employment history 2.9%

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 Sioux City

Refinances
273
Median loan $175,000
Refi rate
6.50%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Refi loan costs
$2,900
Conventional
Cash-out refis
231
Median loan $145,000
Cash-out rate
6.75%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Cash-out income
$79,000
Median borrower

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