Mortgage by CountyWhat home buyers actually paid, county by county

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

Metro area · Georgia

Savannah, GA metro: mortgages and home buyers

2025 home-purchase and refinance statistics for the 3-county Savannah, GA area (OMB code 42340), from official HMDA records.

In 2025, lenders reported 5,113 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in the Savannah, GA metro area. The median buyer borrowed $335,000 on a home valued at $375,000 and reported a household income of $110,000.

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 $5,950.

Lenders denied 9.3% of completed home-purchase applications.

Purchase loans
5,113
3 counties
Buyer income
$110,000
U.S. $116,000
Loan amount
$335,000
U.S. $335,000
Down payment
5%
U.S. 10%
30-yr fixed rate
6.625%
U.S. 6.625%
Denial rate
9.3%
Purchase · U.S. 8.5%

Key facts

  • Median conventional loan costs ($5,950) were 7% higher than the U.S. median ($5,570).
  • VA loans were unusually common: 27.9% of purchase mortgages.
  • 31.3% 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 (33.3% of purchase loans).
  • 59.8% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
  • The most-cited reason for denial was debt-to-income ratio (46.6% of denials with a stated reason).

Counties in the metro area

CountyPurchase loansMedian loanBuyer income30-yr rateLoan costsConforming limitFHA limit
Chatham County, GA3,313$325,000$107,0006.625%$6,090$832,750$541,287
Effingham County, GA922$325,000$106,0006.625%$6,230$832,750$541,287
Bryan County, GA878$375,000$129,0006.625%$5,290$832,750$541,287

Who bought homes in Savannah

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

Purchase loans
5,113
of 5,761 applications
Buyer income
$110,000
Middle half $81,000–$159,000
Home value
$375,000
Middle half $305,000–$475,000
Loan amount
$335,000
Middle half $275,000–$415,000
Down payment
5%
31.3% put 20%+ down
Single borrower
59.8%
No co-applicant

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

Loan type

Conventional 46.5% 2,376
FHA 25.1% 1,281
VA 27.9% 1,429
USDA 0.5% 27

What the homes were for

Primary residence 92.5% 5,290
Second home 2.9% 163
Investment property 4.6% 263

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

Borrower age

Under 25 6.8%
25–34 33.3%
35–44 26.2%
45–54 15.1%
55–64 11.2%
65–74 5.9%
75 and over 1.5%

Debt-to-income ratio

Under 20% 2.9%
20–29% 9.3%
30–35% 13.8%
36–42% 23.5%
43–49% 32.1%
50–60% 16.8%
Over 60% 1.5%

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

What borrowing cost in Savannah

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.

MeasureSavannahU.S.
30-year fixed rate · conventional6.625%6.625%
30-year fixed rate · FHA6.000%6.250%
30-year fixed rate · VA6.125%6.125%
15-year fixed rate · conventional5.757%5.875%
Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional+0.15 pts+0.13 pts
Total loan costs · conventional$5,950$5,570
Total loan costs · FHA$11,240$11,310
Total loan costs · VA$6,880$6,490
Origination charges (all loan types)$1,600$1,860
Borrowers paying discount points55.6%51.3%
Points paid, when paid (% of loan)0.89%0.87%
Borrowers receiving lender credits32.0%33.1%
Adjustable-rate mortgages4.2%7.4%
Jumbo loans (above conforming limit)2.2%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

Savannah: 533 of 5,761 completed home-purchase applications were denied (9.3%).

Denial rate

ApplicationSavannahU.S.
Home purchase9.3%8.5%
Conventional6.1%7.1%
FHA15.7%12.5%
VA7.7%8.0%
USDA25.0%12.5%
Refinance16.8%17.9%
Cash-out refinance36.0%33.6%

Main reason for purchase denials

Debt-to-income ratio 46.6%
Credit history 20.2%
Other 6.8%
Collateral (appraisal/property) 6.6%
Insufficient cash (down payment/closing costs) 6.4%
Unverifiable information 5.3%
Credit application incomplete 5.3%
Employment history 2.8%

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 Savannah

Refinances
1,037
Median loan $335,000
Refi rate
6.25%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Refi loan costs
$6,010
Conventional
Cash-out refis
1,063
Median loan $255,000
Cash-out rate
6.875%
30-yr fixed, conv.
Cash-out income
$91,000
Median borrower

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