Mortgage by CountyWhat home buyers actually paid, county by county

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

Metro area · Pennsylvania

Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, PA metro: mortgages and home buyers

2025 home-purchase and refinance statistics for the 3-county Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, PA area (OMB code 33874), from official HMDA records.

In 2025, lenders reported 16,859 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in the Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, PA metro area. The median buyer borrowed $405,000 on a home valued at $515,000 and reported a household income of $151,000.

Buyers financed a median 80% of the home's value (roughly 20% down), paid a median 6.625% on 30-year fixed conventional loans and faced median conventional loan costs of $7,050.

Lenders denied 4.4% of completed home-purchase applications.

Purchase loans
16,859
3 counties
Buyer income
$151,000
U.S. $116,000
Loan amount
$405,000
U.S. $335,000
Down payment
20%
U.S. 10%
30-yr fixed rate
6.625%
U.S. 6.625%
Denial rate
4.4%
Purchase · U.S. 8.5%

Key facts

  • Home buyers' median income ($151,000) is 30% higher than the U.S. median ($116,000).
  • Median conventional loan costs ($7,050) were 27% higher than the U.S. median ($5,570).
  • FHA loans made up 7.8% of purchase mortgages, versus 21.1% nationally.
  • 56.1% 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 (37.5% of purchase loans).
  • 44.1% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
  • The most-cited reason for denial was debt-to-income ratio (39.6% of denials with a stated reason).

Counties in the metro area

CountyPurchase loansMedian loanBuyer income30-yr rateLoan costsConforming limitFHA limit
Montgomery County, PA7,088$395,000$147,0006.625%$7,010$832,750$630,200
Bucks County, PA4,886$405,000$142,0006.625%$6,910$832,750$630,200
Chester County, PA4,885$445,000$166,0006.625%$7,230$832,750$630,200

Who bought homes in Montgomery County

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

Purchase loans
16,859
of 18,044 applications
Buyer income
$151,000
Middle half $104,000–$226,000
Home value
$515,000
Middle half $395,000–$715,000
Loan amount
$405,000
Middle half $315,000–$555,000
Down payment
20%
56.1% put 20%+ down
Single borrower
44.1%
No co-applicant

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

Loan type

Conventional 88.2% 14,877
FHA 7.8% 1,312
VA 3.9% 660
USDA 0.1% 10

What the homes were for

Primary residence 96.0% 17,099
Second home 0.6% 101
Investment property 3.4% 613

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

Borrower age

Under 25 3.2%
25–34 37.5%
35–44 30.7%
45–54 13.3%
55–64 9.1%
65–74 5.0%
75 and over 1.2%

Debt-to-income ratio

Under 20% 3.9%
20–29% 16.3%
30–35% 18.0%
36–42% 26.6%
43–49% 31.2%
50–60% 3.8%
Over 60% 0.2%

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

What borrowing cost in Montgomery 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.

MeasureMontgomery CountyU.S.
30-year fixed rate · conventional6.625%6.625%
30-year fixed rate · FHA6.375%6.250%
30-year fixed rate · VA6.125%6.125%
15-year fixed rate · conventional5.750%5.875%
Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional+0.09 pts+0.13 pts
Total loan costs · conventional$7,050$5,570
Total loan costs · FHA$13,610$11,310
Total loan costs · VA$8,710$6,490
Origination charges (all loan types)$1,930$1,860
Borrowers paying discount points45.0%51.3%
Points paid, when paid (% of loan)0.65%0.87%
Borrowers receiving lender credits35.7%33.1%
Adjustable-rate mortgages7.9%7.4%
Jumbo loans (above conforming limit)6.1%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

Montgomery County: 795 of 18,044 completed home-purchase applications were denied (4.4%).

Denial rate

ApplicationMontgomery CountyU.S.
Home purchase4.4%8.5%
Conventional3.9%7.1%
FHA8.9%12.5%
VA6.4%8.0%
USDA—12.5%
Refinance13.4%17.9%
Cash-out refinance29.7%33.6%

Main reason for purchase denials

Debt-to-income ratio 39.6%
Collateral (appraisal/property) 16.8%
Credit application incomplete 11.0%
Other 9.9%
Credit history 9.6%
Insufficient cash (down payment/closing costs) 6.5%
Unverifiable information 5.0%
Employment history 1.5%
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 Montgomery County

Refinances
3,640
Median loan $425,000
Refi rate
6.125%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Refi loan costs
$5,720
Conventional
Cash-out refis
2,939
Median loan $315,000
Cash-out rate
6.875%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Cash-out income
$121,000
Median borrower

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