Mortgage by CountyWhat home buyers actually paid, county by county

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

Texas · Waco, TX

McLennan County, TX: mortgages, home buyers & loan limits

What buyers in McLennan County actually borrowed, earned and paid in 2025, from the official Home Mortgage Disclosure Act records — plus the 2026 conforming and FHA loan limits.

HMDA 2025 data released June 23, 2026 · Loan limits for calendar year 2026

In 2025, lenders reported 2,315 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in McLennan County, TX. The median buyer borrowed $285,000 on a home valued at $315,000 and reported a household income of $108,000.

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 $5,720.

Lenders denied 8.2% of completed home-purchase applications.

Conforming limit 2026
$832,750
1-unit home · FHFA
FHA limit 2026
$541,287
1-unit home · HUD
Buyer income
$108,000
U.S. $116,000
30-yr fixed rate
6.625%
U.S. 6.625%
Loan costs
$5,720
Conventional · U.S. $5,570
Denial rate
8.2%
Purchase · U.S. 8.5%

Key facts about McLennan County mortgages

  • Median conventional loan costs ($5,720) were 3% higher than the U.S. median ($5,570).
  • FHA loans made up 32.6% of purchase mortgages, versus 21.1% nationally.
  • 28.0% of buyers put at least 20% down (financed 80% or less), compared with 38.5% nationally.
  • 8.4% of first-lien purchase mortgages were for investment properties.
  • The most common age bracket among borrowers was 25–34 (33.3% of purchase loans).
  • 43.8% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
  • The most-cited reason for denial was debt-to-income ratio (39.8% of denials with a stated reason).

National rank among 1,994 counties with at least 100 purchase loans: median income of home buyers 581st · median home-purchase loan 771st · median conventional loan costs 506th · purchase application denial rate 928th. See rankings.

2026 loan limits in McLennan County

PropertyConforming 2026vs 2025FHA 2026vs 2025
1 unit $832,750 +$26,250 $541,287 +$17,062
2 units $1,066,250 +$33,600 $693,050 +$21,850
3 units $1,288,800 +$40,650 $837,700 +$26,425
4 units $1,601,750 +$50,500 $1,041,125 +$32,825

2026 limits for McLennan County, TX: conforming (Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac) from FHFA; FHA forward-mortgage limits from HUD. FHA limit is at the national floor for low-cost areas. Loans above the conforming limit are "jumbo" loans.

All Texas counties: Texas 2026 loan limits. FHFA and HUD normally announce the next year's limits in late November.

Who bought homes in McLennan County

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

Purchase loans
2,315
of 2,620 applications
Buyer income
$108,000
Middle half $76,000–$155,000
Home value
$315,000
Middle half $255,000–$415,000
Loan amount
$285,000
Middle half $215,000–$365,000
Down payment
5%
28.0% put 20%+ down
Single borrower
43.8%
No co-applicant

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

Loan type

Conventional 51.8% 1,200
FHA 32.6% 755
VA 15.0% 347
USDA 0.6% 13

What the homes were for

Primary residence 90.3% 2,460
Second home 1.3% 35
Investment property 8.4% 228

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

Borrower age

Under 25 9.5%
25–34 33.3%
35–44 24.2%
45–54 14.3%
55–64 10.9%
65–74 5.6%
75 and over 2.2%

Debt-to-income ratio

Under 20% 2.4%
20–29% 12.1%
30–35% 13.5%
36–42% 24.8%
43–49% 31.0%
50–60% 15.1%
Over 60% 1.2%

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

What borrowing cost in McLennan County

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.

MeasureMcLennan CountyTexasU.S.
30-year fixed rate · conventional6.625%6.500%6.625%
30-year fixed rate · FHA6.250%5.990%6.250%
30-year fixed rate · VA6.125%5.990%6.125%
15-year fixed rate · conventional5.875%5.750%5.875%
Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional+0.19 pts+0.09 pts+0.13 pts
Total loan costs · conventional$5,720$6,860$5,570
Total loan costs · FHA$9,920$11,110$11,310
Total loan costs · VA$6,000$6,730$6,490
Origination charges (all loan types)$1,890$1,950$1,860
Borrowers paying discount points61.6%60.7%51.3%
Points paid, when paid (% of loan)0.99%1.06%0.87%
Borrowers receiving lender credits22.0%30.4%33.1%
Adjustable-rate mortgages2.1%4.7%7.4%
Jumbo loans (above conforming limit)1.4%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

McLennan County: 216 of 2,620 completed home-purchase applications were denied (8.2%).

Denial rate

ApplicationMcLennan CountyTexasU.S.
Home purchase8.2%10.2%8.5%
Conventional8.0%8.8%7.1%
FHA8.2%12.7%12.5%
VA9.6%9.1%8.0%
USDA—14.7%12.5%
Refinance25.5%24.4%17.9%
Cash-out refinance25.7%32.8%33.6%

Main reason for purchase denials

Debt-to-income ratio 39.8%
Credit history 16.3%
Collateral (appraisal/property) 13.3%
Credit application incomplete 11.2%
Other 7.1%
Insufficient cash (down payment/closing costs) 6.1%
Unverifiable information 4.1%
Employment history 2.0%

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 McLennan County

Refinances
452
Median loan $295,000
Refi rate
6.50%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Refi loan costs
$5,930
Conventional
Cash-out refis
385
Median loan $205,000
Cash-out rate
7.125%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Cash-out income
$94,000
Median borrower

Top mortgage lenders in McLennan County

251 lenders originated at least one home-purchase or refinance loan here in 2025. The table ranks them by loan count; pricing columns compare conventional purchase loans only.

#LenderLoansShareDenial rate30-yr rate*Spread*Costs*
1 SWBC Mortgage Corporation 242 7.7% 1.9% 6.750% +0.21 $4,970
2 Rocket Mortgage, LLC 240 7.6% 11.2% 6.625% +0.14 $7,050
3 United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) 193 6.1% 12.8% 6.617% +0.18 $6,620
4 Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation 189 6.0% 4.4% 6.625% +0.24 $5,210
5 DHI Mortgage Company, Ltd. 129 4.1% 18.4% — — —
6 Movement Mortgage, LLC 126 4.0% 2.2% 6.625% +0.22 $6,440
7 Granite Bank 103 3.3% 0.0% 6.500% +0.17 $6,360
8 549300uk9r93lgqhov21 80 2.5% 0.0% 6.625% +0.17 $4,640
9 Veterans United Home Loans 69 2.2% 14.3% — — —
10 Central National Bank 67 2.1% 8.1% — — —
11 Susser Bank 61 1.9% 2.4% 6.875% +0.39 $5,660
12 Newrez LLC 56 1.8% 9.4% — — —
13 The First National Bank of McGregor 52 1.7% — — — —
14 Churchill Mortgage Corporation 49 1.6% 3.9% — — —
15 CrossCountry Mortgage, Inc. 47 1.5% 2.3% 6.950% +0.47 $5,740
16 Community Bank & Trust, Waco, Texas 46 1.5% 5.4% — — —
17 Trinity Oaks Mortgage, LLC 45 1.4% 2.4% — +0.51 $6,540
18 JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. 43 1.4% 17.6% 6.625% +0.07 $5,090
19 First National Bank of Central Texas 40 1.3% 6.3% — — —
20 Freedom Mortgage Corporation 40 1.3% — — — —
21 Network Funding, L.P. 37 1.2% 0.0% — +0.09 $11,560
22 Ark-La-Tex Financial Services, LLC. 36 1.1% 0.0% — — —
23 Guild Mortgage Company 36 1.1% 7.5% — — —
24 Alliance Bank Central Texas 35 1.1% 18.8% — — —
25 Extraco Banks, N.A. 35 1.1% 0.0% — +0.07 $6,480

Lenders in McLennan County, TX. 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).

Check a quote for McLennan County

Typical effective property-tax rate 1.42% = median real estate taxes ÷ median home value, U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates.

Nearby counties

CountyDistancePurchase loansMedian loanBuyer incomeConforming limitFHA limit
Falls County, TX26 mi86$245,000$114,000$832,750$541,287
Hill County, TX30 mi288$255,000$103,000$832,750$541,287
Bosque County, TX35 mi108$225,000$90,000$832,750$541,287
Limestone County, TX36 mi77$195,000$96,000$832,750$541,287
Coryell County, TX37 mi842$265,000$88,000$832,750$541,287
Bell County, TX39 mi5,690$285,000$99,000$832,750$541,287

Frequently asked questions

What is the 2026 conforming loan limit in McLennan County?

$832,750 for a one-unit home (FHFA). Two- to four-unit limits are $1,066,250, $1,288,800, $1,601,750. Loans above the limit are jumbo loans and are not eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

What is the 2026 FHA loan limit in McLennan County?

$541,287 for a one-unit home (HUD). This is the national floor for low-cost areas.

How much do home buyers in McLennan County earn?

The median household income reported on 2025 home-purchase mortgages was $108,000; the middle half of buyers reported $76,000 to $155,000.

What mortgage rate did buyers in McLennan County get in 2025?

The median rate on 30-year fixed conventional purchase loans was 6.625%; FHA borrowers paid a median 6.25%. These are rates locked during 2025; check today's rates with several lenders.

How often are mortgage applications denied in McLennan County?

8.2% of completed home-purchase applications were denied in 2025; the most common stated reason was debt-to-income ratio.

Sources: FFIEC/CFPB HMDA 2025 public loan/application register (Snapshot as of June 1, 2026); FHFA 2026 conforming loan limits; HUD 2026 FHA forward-mortgage limits; U.S. Census Bureau. Figures describe typical 2025 loans, not your offer. Methodology