Helena, MT metro: mortgages and home buyers
2025 home-purchase and refinance statistics for the 3-county Helena, MT area (OMB code 25740), from official HMDA records.
In 2025, lenders reported 908 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in the Helena, MT metro area. The median buyer borrowed $395,000 on a home valued at $495,000 and reported a household income of $123,000.
Buyers financed a median 82.1% of the home's value (roughly 17.9% down), paid a median 6.625% on 30-year fixed conventional loans and faced median conventional loan costs of $7,330.
Lenders denied 7.5% of completed home-purchase applications.
Key facts
- Median conventional loan costs ($7,330) were 32% higher than the U.S. median ($5,570).
- FHA loans made up 14.2% of purchase mortgages, versus 21.1% nationally.
- VA loans were unusually common: 19.8% of purchase mortgages.
- 48.7% 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 (30.9% of purchase loans).
- 40.6% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
- The most-cited reason for denial was debt-to-income ratio (38.9% of denials with a stated reason).
Counties in the metro area
| County | Purchase loans | Median loan | Buyer income | 30-yr rate | Loan costs | Conforming limit | FHA limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis and Clark County, MT | 692 | $395,000 | $120,000 | 6.625% | $7,480 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Jefferson County, MT | 114 | $375,000 | $129,000 | 6.624% | $7,080 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Broadwater County, MT | 102 | $475,000 | $137,000 | 6.625% | $6,870 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
Who bought homes in Helena
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 Helena
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 | Helena | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| 30-year fixed rate · conventional | 6.625% | 6.625% |
| 30-year fixed rate · FHA | 6.000% | 6.250% |
| 30-year fixed rate · VA | 6.125% | 6.125% |
| 15-year fixed rate · conventional | — | 5.875% |
| Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional | +0.18 pts | +0.13 pts |
| Total loan costs · conventional | $7,330 | $5,570 |
| Total loan costs · FHA | $14,430 | $11,310 |
| Total loan costs · VA | $8,010 | $6,490 |
| Origination charges (all loan types) | $3,970 | $1,860 |
| Borrowers paying discount points | 63.8% | 51.3% |
| Points paid, when paid (% of loan) | 1.00% | 0.87% |
| Borrowers receiving lender credits | 32.3% | 33.1% |
| Adjustable-rate mortgages | 3.6% | 7.4% |
| Jumbo loans (above conforming limit) | 1.8% | 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
Helena: 75 of 998 completed home-purchase applications were denied (7.5%).
Denial rate
| Application | Helena | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Home purchase | 7.5% | 8.5% |
| Conventional | 7.0% | 7.1% |
| FHA | 12.2% | 12.5% |
| VA | 5.8% | 8.0% |
| USDA | — | 12.5% |
| Refinance | 16.0% | 17.9% |
| Cash-out refinance | 26.9% | 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 Helena
Source: FFIEC/CFPB HMDA 2025 public LAR (derived MSA/MD); OMB July 2023 delineations via the U.S. Census Bureau. Methodology