Delaware mortgages and home buyers, 2025
Incomes, down payments, rates, loan costs, denials and lenders across Delaware's 3 counties, from official HMDA records.
HMDA 2025 data released June 23, 2026
In 2025, lenders reported 10,712 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in Delaware. The median buyer borrowed $345,000 on a home valued at $415,000 and reported a household income of $107,000.
Buyers financed a median 90% of the home's value (roughly 10% down), paid a median 6.625% on 30-year fixed conventional loans and faced median conventional loan costs of $6,050.
Lenders denied 8.5% of completed home-purchase applications.
Key facts
- Median conventional loan costs ($6,050) were 9% higher than the U.S. median ($5,570).
- Second homes accounted for 10.2% of first-lien purchase mortgages — a vacation-home market.
- The most common age bracket among borrowers was 25–34 (26.4% of purchase loans).
- 56.3% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
- The most-cited reason for denial was debt-to-income ratio (45.2% of denials with a stated reason).
The 2026 conforming limit is $832,750 for a one-unit home in every Delaware county. See every Delaware county's 2026 FHA and conforming loan limits.
Delaware counties compared
Click a column to sort. Medians shown with at least 30 loans.
| County | Purchase loans | Median loan | Buyer income | Down payment | 30-yr rate | Loan costs | Denial rate | FHA limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent County | 2,086 | $325,000 | $94,000 | 5.0% | 6.625% | $6,200 | 11.2% | $541,287 |
| New Castle County | 5,090 | $345,000 | $110,000 | 10.0% | 6.625% | $6,120 | 6.6% | $630,200 |
| Sussex County | 3,521 | $345,000 | $115,000 | 20.0% | 6.625% | $5,890 | 9.6% | $541,287 |
Who bought homes in Delaware
Home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family (1–4 unit) site-built homes, first liens, originated in 2025.
Values are medians; "middle half" is the 25th to 75th percentile.
Loan type
What the homes were for
All first-lien, closed-end purchase mortgages, including second homes and investors.
Borrower age
Debt-to-income ratio
Monthly debts (including the new payment) as a share of income, as used in underwriting.
What borrowing cost in Delaware
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 | Delaware | 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 | 6.125% | 6.125% |
| 15-year fixed rate · conventional | 5.875% | 5.875% |
| Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional | +0.18 pts | +0.13 pts |
| Total loan costs · conventional | $6,050 | $5,570 |
| Total loan costs · FHA | $12,540 | $11,310 |
| Total loan costs · VA | $8,520 | $6,490 |
| Origination charges (all loan types) | $2,500 | $1,860 |
| Borrowers paying discount points | 49.8% | 51.3% |
| Points paid, when paid (% of loan) | 0.98% | 0.87% |
| Borrowers receiving lender credits | 32.4% | 33.1% |
| Adjustable-rate mortgages | 4.3% | 7.4% |
| Jumbo loans (above conforming limit) | 1.6% | 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
Delaware: 1,023 of 11,972 completed home-purchase applications were denied (8.5%).
Denial rate
| Application | Delaware | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Home purchase | 8.5% | 8.5% |
| Conventional | 5.9% | 7.1% |
| FHA | 15.9% | 12.5% |
| VA | 7.9% | 8.0% |
| USDA | 15.5% | 12.5% |
| Refinance | 15.7% | 17.9% |
| Cash-out refinance | 35.6% | 33.6% |
Main reason for purchase denials
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 Delaware
Top mortgage lenders in Delaware
| # | Lender | Loans | Share | Denial rate | 30-yr rate* | Spread* | Costs* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pike Creek Mortgage Services, Inc. | 1,026 | 6.9% | 2.6% | 6.490% | +0.17 | $6,580 |
| 2 | Rocket Mortgage, LLC | 1,022 | 6.8% | 13.3% | 6.625% | +0.28 | $6,120 |
| 3 | NVR Mortgage Finance, Inc. | 877 | 5.9% | 21.9% | 6.875% | +0.24 | $5,250 |
| 4 | United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) | 857 | 5.7% | 10.2% | 6.604% | +0.25 | $7,870 |
| 5 | Keystone Funding, Inc. | 543 | 3.6% | 4.1% | 6.625% | +0.23 | $7,520 |
| 6 | Meridian Bank | 510 | 3.4% | 2.9% | 6.500% | +0.19 | $6,450 |
| 7 | Guild Mortgage Company | 422 | 2.8% | 4.4% | 6.625% | +0.23 | $5,720 |
| 8 | Lennar Mortgage, LLC | 387 | 2.6% | 10.8% | 6.500% | +0.06 | $5,290 |
| 9 | loanDepot.com, LLC | 358 | 2.4% | 3.2% | 6.875% | +0.21 | $4,860 |
| 10 | Prosperity Home Mortgage, LLC | 331 | 2.2% | 4.8% | 6.625% | +0.23 | $6,110 |
| 11 | Freedom Mortgage Corporation | 324 | 2.2% | 25.6% | — | — | — |
| 12 | CrossCountry Mortgage, Inc. | 317 | 2.1% | 4.8% | 6.750% | +0.41 | $6,970 |
| 13 | K. Hovnanian American Mortgage, L.L.C. | 294 | 2.0% | 8.1% | 6.625% | +0.28 | $6,110 |
| 14 | Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB | 289 | 1.9% | 2.7% | 6.375% | −0.11 | $3,490 |
| 15 | Pennymac Loan Services, LLC | 272 | 1.8% | 16.5% | 6.750% | +0.19 | $6,170 |
| 16 | JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. | 243 | 1.6% | 9.9% | 6.250% | −0.14 | $5,270 |
| 17 | Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation | 240 | 1.6% | 4.5% | 6.875% | +0.29 | $5,790 |
| 18 | Newrez LLC | 220 | 1.5% | 10.7% | 6.875% | +0.22 | $6,190 |
| 19 | Movement Mortgage, LLC | 217 | 1.5% | 5.0% | 6.500% | +0.13 | $6,350 |
| 20 | CMG Mortgage, Inc. | 213 | 1.4% | 0.0% | 6.875% | +0.20 | $5,470 |
| 21 | Luminate Bank | 212 | 1.4% | 5.8% | 6.625% | +0.44 | $9,170 |
| 22 | Veterans United Home Loans | 203 | 1.4% | 10.6% | — | — | — |
| 23 | DHI Mortgage Company, Ltd. | 199 | 1.3% | 17.0% | 6.375% | −0.15 | $4,730 |
| 24 | American Neighborhood Mortgage Acceptance Company LLC | 176 | 1.2% | 4.0% | 6.625% | +0.49 | $8,490 |
| 25 | Embrace Home Loans, Inc. | 173 | 1.2% | 5.2% | 6.750% | +0.27 | $6,300 |
Largest lenders in Delaware by 2025 originations. Loans = home-purchase, refinance and cash-out originations (2025); share = share of those loans here; denial rate = home-purchase applications. *Medians for conventional home-purchase loans, shown with at least 20 loans; spread = APR minus the average prime offer rate at rate lock (percentage points); costs = total loan costs (section D).
Metro areas in Delaware
- Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ · 6,598 purchases
- Dover, DE · 2,086 purchases
Source: FFIEC/CFPB HMDA 2025 public LAR; FHFA and HUD 2026 loan limits. Methodology