Metro area · North Carolina

Raleigh-Cary, NC metro: mortgages and home buyers

2025 home-purchase and refinance statistics for the 3-county Raleigh-Cary, NC area (OMB code 39580), from official HMDA records.

In 2025, lenders reported 19,313 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro area. The median buyer borrowed $385,000 on a home valued at $455,000 and reported a household income of $133,000.

Buyers financed a median 87.3% of the home's value (roughly 12.7% down), paid a median 6.50% on 30-year fixed conventional loans and faced median conventional loan costs of $4,650.

Lenders denied 6.6% of completed home-purchase applications.

Purchase loans

19,313

3 counties

Buyer income

$133,000

U.S. $116,000

Loan amount

$385,000

U.S. $335,000

Down payment

12.7%

U.S. 10%

30-yr fixed rate

6.50%

U.S. 6.625%

Denial rate

6.6%

Purchase · U.S. 8.5%

Key facts

Home buyers' median income ($133,000) is 15% 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 ($4,650) were 17% lower than the U.S. median ($5,570).
FHA loans made up 14.1% of purchase mortgages, versus 21.1% nationally.
The most common age bracket among borrowers was 25–34 (33.3% of purchase loans).
52.5% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
The most-cited reason for denial was debt-to-income ratio (47.9% 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
Wake County, NC	14,356	$405,000	$144,000	6.500%	$4,610	$832,750	$541,287
Johnston County, NC	3,840	$325,000	$106,000	6.500%	$4,740	$832,750	$541,287
Franklin County, NC	1,117	$345,000	$119,000	6.500%	$4,820	$832,750	$541,287

Who bought homes in Raleigh

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

Purchase loans

19,313

of 21,176 applications

Buyer income

$133,000

Middle half $92,000–$194,000

Home value

$455,000

Middle half $355,000–$615,000

Loan amount

$385,000

Middle half $295,000–$505,000

Down payment

12.7%

44.3% put 20%+ down

Single borrower

52.5%

No co-applicant

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

Loan type

Conventional 76.7% 14,810

FHA 14.1% 2,724

VA 8.4% 1,616

USDA 0.8% 163

What the homes were for

Primary residence 93.1% 19,673

Second home 1.3% 270

Investment property 5.6% 1,190

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

Borrower age

Under 25 4.2%

25–34 33.3%

35–44 29.3%

45–54 16.6%

55–64 10.0%

65–74 5.0%

75 and over 1.7%

Debt-to-income ratio

Under 20% 4.5%

20–29% 16.6%

30–35% 17.2%

36–42% 25.5%

43–49% 28.4%

50–60% 7.2%

Over 60% 0.6%

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

What borrowing cost in Raleigh

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	Raleigh	U.S.
30-year fixed rate · conventional	6.500%	6.625%
30-year fixed rate · FHA	5.990%	6.250%
30-year fixed rate · VA	6.000%	6.125%
15-year fixed rate · conventional	5.625%	5.875%
Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional	−0.05 pts	+0.13 pts
Total loan costs · conventional	$4,650	$5,570
Total loan costs · FHA	$11,040	$11,310
Total loan costs · VA	$5,420	$6,490
Origination charges (all loan types)	$1,770	$1,860
Borrowers paying discount points	48.6%	51.3%
Points paid, when paid (% of loan)	0.99%	0.87%
Borrowers receiving lender credits	31.2%	33.1%
Adjustable-rate mortgages	15.5%	7.4%
Jumbo loans (above conforming limit)	4.2%	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

Raleigh: 1,401 of 21,176 completed home-purchase applications were denied (6.6%).

Denial rate

Application	Raleigh	U.S.
Home purchase	6.6%	8.5%
Conventional	5.2%	7.1%
FHA	13.0%	12.5%
VA	7.2%	8.0%
USDA	10.6%	12.5%
Refinance	13.8%	17.9%
Cash-out refinance	32.6%	33.6%

Main reason for purchase denials

Debt-to-income ratio 47.9%

Credit history 13.2%

Credit application incomplete 8.8%

Other 8.4%

Unverifiable information 7.3%

Collateral (appraisal/property) 5.8%

Insufficient cash (down payment/closing costs) 5.0%

Employment history 3.5%

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 Raleigh

Refinances

4,532

Median loan $435,000

Refi rate

6.374%

30-yr fixed, conv.

Refi loan costs

$4,860

Conventional

Cash-out refis

2,658

Median loan $295,000

Cash-out rate

6.75%

30-yr fixed, conv.

Cash-out income

$104,000

Median borrower

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