Mortgage by CountyWhat home buyers actually paid, county by county

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

Metro area · District of Columbia, Maryland

Washington, DC-MD metro: mortgages and home buyers

2025 home-purchase and refinance statistics for the 3-county Washington, DC-MD area (OMB code 47764), from official HMDA records.

In 2025, lenders reported 14,492 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in the Washington, DC-MD metro area. The median buyer borrowed $455,000 on a home valued at $495,000 and reported a household income of $140,000.

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 $6,900.

Lenders denied 11.5% of completed home-purchase applications.

Purchase loans
14,492
3 counties
Buyer income
$140,000
U.S. $116,000
Loan amount
$455,000
U.S. $335,000
Down payment
5%
U.S. 10%
30-yr fixed rate
6.50%
U.S. 6.625%
Denial rate
11.5%
Purchase · U.S. 8.5%

Key facts

  • Home buyers' median income ($140,000) is 21% higher 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 ($6,900) were 24% higher than the U.S. median ($5,570).
  • VA loans were unusually common: 16.3% of purchase mortgages.
  • 27.8% 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 (32.5% of purchase loans).
  • 61.0% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
  • The most-cited reason for denial was debt-to-income ratio (37.9% of denials with a stated reason).

Counties in the metro area

CountyPurchase loansMedian loanBuyer income30-yr rateLoan costsConforming limitFHA limit
Prince George's County, MD7,364$435,000$128,0006.625%$6,400$1,249,125$1,249,125
District of Columbia, DC4,713$565,000$185,0006.500%$7,170$1,249,125$1,249,125
Charles County, MD2,415$435,000$131,0006.500%$6,710$1,249,125$1,249,125

Who bought homes in Washington

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

Purchase loans
14,492
of 16,803 applications
Buyer income
$140,000
Middle half $104,000–$206,000
Home value
$495,000
Middle half $405,000–$685,000
Loan amount
$455,000
Middle half $365,000–$605,000
Down payment
5%
27.8% put 20%+ down
Single borrower
61.0%
No co-applicant

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

Loan type

Conventional 58.5% 8,480
FHA 25.0% 3,628
VA 16.3% 2,363
USDA 0.1% 21

What the homes were for

Primary residence 97.0% 14,542
Second home 1.0% 146
Investment property 2.1% 311

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

Borrower age

Under 25 3.2%
25–34 32.5%
35–44 31.9%
45–54 17.3%
55–64 9.8%
65–74 4.2%
75 and over 1.2%

Debt-to-income ratio

Under 20% 2.7%
20–29% 11.0%
30–35% 13.5%
36–42% 23.8%
43–49% 35.2%
50–60% 12.9%
Over 60% 0.9%

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

What borrowing cost in Washington

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.

MeasureWashingtonU.S.
30-year fixed rate · conventional6.500%6.625%
30-year fixed rate · FHA6.375%6.250%
30-year fixed rate · VA6.125%6.125%
15-year fixed rate · conventional5.625%5.875%
Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional+0.07 pts+0.13 pts
Total loan costs · conventional$6,900$5,570
Total loan costs · FHA$14,760$11,310
Total loan costs · VA$9,240$6,490
Origination charges (all loan types)$1,990$1,860
Borrowers paying discount points49.9%51.3%
Points paid, when paid (% of loan)0.99%0.87%
Borrowers receiving lender credits36.1%33.1%
Adjustable-rate mortgages7.0%7.4%
Jumbo loans (above conforming limit)3.0%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

Washington: 1,929 of 16,803 completed home-purchase applications were denied (11.5%).

Denial rate

ApplicationWashingtonU.S.
Home purchase11.5%8.5%
Conventional9.9%7.1%
FHA16.4%12.5%
VA9.0%8.0%
USDA—12.5%
Refinance21.1%17.9%
Cash-out refinance42.7%33.6%

Main reason for purchase denials

Debt-to-income ratio 37.9%
Collateral (appraisal/property) 16.6%
Credit history 12.3%
Other 10.2%
Unverifiable information 7.0%
Insufficient cash (down payment/closing costs) 6.4%
Credit application incomplete 5.8%
Employment history 3.7%
Mortgage insurance denied 0.1%

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 Washington

Refinances
3,586
Median loan $485,000
Refi rate
6.25%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Refi loan costs
$5,420
Conventional
Cash-out refis
2,662
Median loan $345,000
Cash-out rate
6.75%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Cash-out income
$115,000
Median borrower

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