Align Lending Research · 2025 data
Michigan Mortgage Market Report
Every mortgage application lenders reported on a Michigan home in 2025, 364,013 of them: what people borrowed for, who got a yes, why lenders said no, and how it looked in all 83 counties.
- Free to reuse with credit
- Built from public federal records
The short answer
Lenders reported 364,013 mortgage applications on Michigan homes in 2025 and made 218,394 loans worth $47.3 billion. That is up 10.6% from 197,449 in 2024.
Most of that growth was not home buying. Purchase loans barely moved, up 0.8% to 101,472. Refinances rose 66%, and homeowners took out 66,247 home equity loans and lines of credit, more than every refinance and cash-out refinance combined.
Lenders denied 22.6% of the applications they decided. Purchase loans were denied least, 15.5%. Home equity loans were denied about twice as often. The two reasons lenders gave most were debt-to-income ratio and credit history.
Key statistics
The findings at a glance
What people borrowed for
Home buying held flat. Refinancing and home equity grew.
Michigan made 101,472 home purchase loans in 2025, about the same as 2024. The growth was owners borrowing against homes they already had: 22,909 refinances, 21,936 cash-out refinances and 66,247 home equity loans and lines. A home equity line is the most common way Michigan owners borrowed after a purchase loan.
What Michigan homeowners borrowed for
Loans made, by purpose, 2024 and 2025. The change from 2024 follows each 2025 bar.
Source: Align Lending analysis of 2025 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data for Michigan, FFIEC. Business-purpose loans and reverse mortgages excluded.
What this means. “Why. That's my first question. What are we using the money for?” Samantha Shelton
Home equity lines had a median amount of $85,000 and home equity loans $55,000, against $185,000 for a cash-out refinance. Owners are taking smaller amounts and keeping their first mortgage. That can make sense. It still has to have a reason.
Your house isn't an ATM. Equity is valuable. So there should be a reason behind using it.
Samantha Shelton, NMLS 1647301
| Purpose | Applications | Loans made | Change from 2024 | Dollar volume | Median loan amount | Denied | Through a third party |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home purchase | 150,394 | 101,472 | +1% | $27.9B | $235,000 | 15.5% | 19.2% |
| Refinance | 38,334 | 22,909 | +66% | $6.9B | $255,000 | 16.4% | 25.1% |
| Cash-out refinance | 45,672 | 21,936 | +15% | $4.8B | $185,000 | 31.2% | 16.0% |
| Home equity line of credit | 83,611 | 46,042 | +17% | $5.3B | $85,000 | 30.1% | 4.7% |
| Closed-end home equity loan | 33,651 | 20,205 | +7% | $1.4B | $55,000 | 27.3% | 5.1% |
| Home improvement and other, first lien | 12,351 | 5,830 | +3% | $0.9B | $95,000 | 34.4% | 3.0% |
| All consumer lending | 364,013 | 218,394 | +11% | $47.3B | 22.6% | 14.2% |
Thinking about it? Home equity lines of credit, cash-out or home equity and the home equity review walk through the trade-offs.
Who got a yes
Purchase loans were denied least. Home equity, about twice as often.
Lenders denied 22.6% of the applications they decided in 2025, down from 24.0% in 2024. For a home purchase it was 15.5%. For home equity lines and loans it was 30% and 27%, and for cash-out refinances 31%.
Purchase loans were denied least
Share of decided applications that lenders denied, by purpose, 2025.
Source: Align Lending analysis of 2025 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data for Michigan, FFIEC. Business-purpose loans and reverse mortgages excluded.
What this means. “I'd rather know that six months ahead of time than six days before you want to write an offer.” Samantha Shelton
A purchase application usually comes after a preapproval, so most of the sorting has already happened. A home equity application often doesn't. People apply to see what happens, and the first answer is the lender's. Knowing your debt-to-income ratio and your credit before you apply tells you where you stand before a lender does.
I don't think somebody should refinance just because somebody called them and told them they could.
Samantha Shelton, NMLS 1647301
Why lenders said no
Debt and credit history, far ahead of everything else
On a denied purchase application, lenders cited credit history 42% of the time and debt-to-income ratio 42%. Not enough cash to close came third, 22%. Home equity denials looked the same at the top, with collateral, the home's value against what is owed on it, third.
Why purchase applications were denied
Share of denied home purchase applications citing each reason, 2025. A denial can cite up to four.
Source: Align Lending analysis of 2025 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data for Michigan, FFIEC. Business-purpose loans and reverse mortgages excluded. First-lien, owner-occupied, one to four units.
Why home equity applications were denied
Share of denied home equity loan and line applications citing each reason, 2025.
Source: Align Lending analysis of 2025 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data for Michigan, FFIEC. Business-purpose loans and reverse mortgages excluded.
What this means. “I'd rather say, "Let's check," than tell somebody something that doesn't apply to them.” Samantha Shelton
Both of the big two can be worked on before you apply, and both show up on the first conversation. That is the point of looking first.
First, don't panic. And don't start doing random things you read online. Let's look at the actual situation.
Samantha Shelton, NMLS 1647301
Debt-to-income
Three in ten approved purchase loans were above 43%
43% gets quoted as the limit. In 2025, 30% of the purchase loans Michigan lenders made had a debt-to-income ratio above it, most of them between 44% and 49%. Where the denials pile up is at 50% or more: 40.8% of denied purchase applications were there, against 5.8% of the loans that closed.
Debt-to-income on purchase loans, made and denied
Share of each group by debt-to-income ratio, first-lien owner-occupied home purchase applications, 2025.
Source: Align Lending analysis of 2025 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data for Michigan, FFIEC. Business-purpose loans and reverse mortgages excluded.
What this means. “The maximum somebody can qualify for and the amount they actually feel comfortable paying every month are not always the same number.” Samantha Shelton
How far a ratio can go depends on the loan program, the credit behind it and what else is in the file. The debt-to-income guide has a calculator that shows yours, and what paying off one debt would change.
They think affordability is one number somebody else gives them. It's not. There's a qualification calculation and then there's your real life. Both matter.
Samantha Shelton, NMLS 1647301
How buyers financed
Four in five purchase loans were conventional
Of 92,484 first-lien purchase loans on owner-occupied homes, 79% were conventional, 14% FHA, 6% VA and 0.7% USDA. 95% of all first-lien purchase loans were for a home the buyer would live in; the rest were second homes and rentals. The typical buyer's home was valued at $285,000, up from $275,000 in 2024, on a median income of $91,000.
How buyers financed their homes
Home purchase loans made by loan type, first-lien, owner-occupied, one to four units, 2025. 92,484 loans.
Source: Align Lending analysis of 2025 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data for Michigan, FFIEC. Business-purpose loans and reverse mortgages excluded.
Each program has its own page: conventional, FHA, VA and USDA.
Manufactured homes
Manufactured homes were denied seven times as often
Purchase applications on manufactured homes were denied 57% of the time in 2025, against 8% for site-built homes. Manufactured homes were 6.3% of the purchase loans made. How the home is titled, and whether the land comes with it, change which loans are even possible.
Manufactured homes were denied far more often
Share of decided first-lien, owner-occupied home purchase applications denied, 2025.
Source: Align Lending analysis of 2025 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data for Michigan, FFIEC. Business-purpose loans and reverse mortgages excluded.
Before you apply on one: manufactured home loans in Michigan covers what lenders look at.
Who took the application
One application in seven came through a third party
14.2% of Michigan applications reached the lender from someone other than the borrower, such as a mortgage broker. For purchase loans it was 19.2%, for refinances 25.1%, and for home equity lines 4.7%. 792 lenders made at least one loan in Michigan in 2025.
Applications that came through a broker or other third party
Share of applications the lender received from a third party rather than the borrower, by purpose, 2025.
Source: Align Lending analysis of 2025 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data for Michigan, FFIEC. Business-purpose loans and reverse mortgages excluded.
What this means. “I own a mortgage brokerage in Michigan and I help people understand their options before they make one of the biggest financial decisions they're ever going to make.” Samantha Shelton
Align Lending is a mortgage broker, so we have an interest in this one. It's here because it's in the data, and because it answers a question people ask us: a broker takes the application and sends it to one of several wholesale lenders, who makes the loan.
By county
Where Michigan financed homes, and what they were worth
The median home value on a purchase loan ranged from $135,000 in Gogebic and Iron counties to $675,000 in Leelanau. Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties together made 37% of Michigan's purchase loans.
Home values behind purchase loans, county by county
Median property value on first-lien, owner-occupied, site-built home purchase loans, 2025. Darker is higher.
Source: Align Lending analysis of 2025 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data for Michigan, FFIEC. Business-purpose loans and reverse mortgages excluded. County outlines: U.S. Census Bureau.
Where the most homes were financed
Home purchase loans made, the 15 counties with the most, 2025.
Source: Align Lending analysis of 2025 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data for Michigan, FFIEC. Business-purpose loans and reverse mortgages excluded.
County guides
The figure beside each county is the median home value on its purchase loans. Each county guide has its own taxes, programs and cities.
The data
All 83 counties
Sort by any column. A median is shown only on at least 30 loans; Keweenaw, Luce, Mackinac and Schoolcraft had fewer. Home values are what the lender relied on, rounded to $10,000 bands.
| Oakland | 30,477 | +12% | 13,824 | 9,568 | $385,000 | $126,000 | 10% | 20% |
| Wayne | 29,744 | +9% | 14,211 | 8,451 | $235,000 | $81,000 | 26% | 20% |
| Macomb | 20,580 | +11% | 9,588 | 6,505 | $285,000 | $86,000 | 19% | 21% |
| Kent | 16,156 | +10% | 7,188 | 5,771 | $355,000 | $102,000 | 12% | 9% |
| Genesee | 8,424 | +11% | 4,207 | 2,156 | $225,000 | $80,000 | 35% | 14% |
| Ottawa | 7,671 | +8% | 3,206 | 2,980 | $395,000 | $109,000 | 10% | 8% |
| Washtenaw | 6,857 | +15% | 3,300 | 2,129 | $435,000 | $136,000 | 8% | 12% |
| Kalamazoo | 5,969 | +4% | 2,730 | 2,234 | $285,000 | $94,000 | 16% | 8% |
| Livingston | 5,495 | +13% | 2,272 | 2,037 | $415,000 | $124,000 | 14% | 16% |
| Ingham | 5,189 | +12% | 2,759 | 1,419 | $215,000 | $82,000 | 21% | 10% |
| Muskegon | 4,635 | +11% | 2,147 | 1,294 | $245,000 | $76,000 | 33% | 11% |
| St. Clair | 4,185 | +10% | 1,856 | 1,356 | $265,000 | $82,000 | 25% | 13% |
| Monroe | 4,036 | +17% | 1,786 | 1,348 | $275,000 | $89,000 | 26% | 10% |
| Berrien | 3,811 | +8% | 1,665 | 1,348 | $285,000 | $87,000 | 23% | 6% |
| Jackson | 3,514 | +7% | 1,725 | 883 | $235,000 | $79,000 | 30% | 12% |
| Saginaw | 3,335 | +8% | 1,721 | 782 | $195,000 | $74,000 | 29% | 9% |
| Allegan | 3,312 | +7% | 1,388 | 1,197 | $345,000 | $98,000 | 14% | 9% |
| Calhoun | 3,084 | +11% | 1,393 | 882 | $205,000 | $74,000 | 32% | 9% |
| Eaton | 2,435 | +12% | 1,173 | 655 | $265,000 | $90,000 | 23% | 9% |
| Grand Traverse | 2,432 | +15% | 1,061 | 827 | $405,000 | $111,000 | 14% | 14% |
| Lenawee | 2,273 | +18% | 1,082 | 693 | $235,000 | $77,000 | 32% | 8% |
| Lapeer | 2,225 | +13% | 958 | 680 | $325,000 | $96,000 | 23% | 17% |
| Bay | 2,077 | +9% | 1,066 | 503 | $175,000 | $69,000 | 27% | 9% |
| Van Buren | 1,940 | +9% | 802 | 715 | $295,000 | $87,500 | 26% | 8% |
| Clinton | 1,870 | +12% | 867 | 581 | $345,000 | $109,000 | 18% | 8% |
| Barry | 1,747 | +8% | 781 | 551 | $305,000 | $86,000 | 21% | 9% |
| Montcalm | 1,729 | +17% | 781 | 445 | $255,000 | $75,000 | 32% | 10% |
| Shiawassee | 1,645 | +6% | 768 | 419 | $205,000 | $73,000 | 35% | 13% |
| Midland | 1,642 | +3% | 849 | 355 | $265,000 | $96,500 | 23% | 13% |
| Ionia | 1,458 | +10% | 730 | 358 | $255,000 | $80,500 | 24% | 9% |
| St. Joseph | 1,411 | +5% | 667 | 441 | $215,000 | $74,000 | 31% | 7% |
| Newaygo | 1,310 | +11% | 562 | 357 | $285,000 | $80,000 | 32% | 10% |
| Cass | 1,293 | +7% | 556 | 442 | $255,000 | $86,000 | 27% | 7% |
| Isabella | 1,051 | +15% | 587 | 229 | $240,000 | $82,000 | 22% | 8% |
| Tuscola | 982 | +10% | 492 | 213 | $195,000 | $72,000 | 33% | 12% |
| Marquette | 976 | +8% | 464 | 242 | $295,000 | $93,000 | 17% | 8% |
| Mecosta | 958 | +14% | 443 | 283 | $255,000 | $80,000 | 31% | 9% |
| Hillsdale | 919 | +23% | 462 | 217 | $235,000 | $79,000 | 30% | 10% |
| Branch | 877 | +12% | 419 | 244 | $215,000 | $72,000 | 34% | 6% |
| Roscommon | 829 | +13% | 423 | 167 | $205,000 | $72,500 | 33% | 12% |
| Clare | 827 | +12% | 426 | 185 | $175,000 | $64,000 | 34% | 8% |
| Wexford | 770 | +26% | 353 | 200 | $255,000 | $80,000 | 38% | 13% |
| Sanilac | 761 | +5% | 366 | 157 | $225,000 | $76,000 | 31% | 16% |
| Emmet | 743 | +15% | 326 | 221 | $400,000 | $112,000 | 15% | 10% |
| Antrim | 729 | +16% | 284 | 234 | $315,000 | $88,000 | 28% | 13% |
| Otsego | 701 | +11% | 293 | 252 | $280,000 | $85,000 | 29% | 12% |
| Gladwin | 688 | +15% | 340 | 155 | $225,000 | $77,000 | 32% | 11% |
| Leelanau | 667 | +8% | 273 | 250 | $675,000 | $155,000 | 11% | 9% |
| Gratiot | 664 | +8% | 364 | 130 | $175,000 | $67,000 | 33% | 10% |
| Charlevoix | 642 | +10% | 260 | 218 | $385,000 | $98,000 | 20% | 12% |
| Oceana | 564 | +9% | 269 | 123 | $275,000 | $73,000 | 27% | 10% |
| Mason | 557 | +16% | 242 | 119 | $300,000 | $85,000 | 24% | 10% |
| Huron | 555 | +14% | 280 | 124 | $165,000 | $67,500 | 27% | 9% |
| Iosco | 503 | +10% | 289 | 80 | $175,000 | $65,500 | 37% | 16% |
| Manistee | 502 | +12% | 243 | 113 | $245,000 | $88,000 | 27% | 9% |
| Benzie | 501 | +4% | 210 | 138 | $405,000 | $106,000 | 20% | 13% |
| Houghton | 479 | +25% | 253 | 83 | $205,000 | $85,000 | 21% | 7% |
| Kalkaska | 462 | +8% | 201 | 112 | $265,000 | $80,000 | 32% | 15% |
| Osceola | 462 | -4% | 228 | 134 | $195,000 | $69,500 | 41% | 10% |
| Cheboygan | 458 | +13% | 222 | 88 | $265,000 | $78,000 | 36% | 15% |
| Ogemaw | 422 | -4% | 212 | 95 | $195,000 | $67,000 | 34% | 9% |
| Crawford | 384 | +21% | 168 | 96 | $205,000 | $77,000 | 39% | 9% |
| Alpena | 348 | +11% | 187 | 63 | $185,000 | $72,500 | 38% | 16% |
| Chippewa | 344 | +9% | 195 | 66 | $230,000 | $93,000 | 34% | 8% |
| Missaukee | 331 | +21% | 138 | 90 | $235,000 | $73,000 | 34% | 11% |
| Dickinson | 328 | +19% | 180 | 60 | $175,000 | $75,500 | 35% | 8% |
| Lake | 323 | +16% | 179 | 55 | $225,000 | $67,500 | 36% | 9% |
| Arenac | 318 | +28% | 140 | 80 | $195,000 | $75,000 | 35% | 11% |
| Montmorency | 307 | +18% | 155 | 84 | $205,000 | $69,000 | 33% | 12% |
| Menominee | 305 | +9% | 165 | 54 | $180,000 | $67,000 | 37% | 17% |
| Iron | 289 | +7% | 115 | 102 | $135,000 | $56,000 | 20% | 6% |
| Delta | 250 | +30% | 142 | 28 | $225,000 | $77,500 | 50% | 8% |
| Gogebic | 249 | +14% | 133 | 42 | $135,000 | $55,000 | 30% | 13% |
| Alcona | 247 | +22% | 132 | 39 | $225,000 | $74,500 | 40% | 13% |
| Oscoda | 201 | -4% | 95 | 45 | $165,000 | $62,000 | 33% | 12% |
| Presque Isle | 178 | +13% | 77 | 42 | $195,000 | $68,500 | 44% | 12% |
| Mackinac | 123 | -14% | 60 | 24 | n/a | $94,000 | 52% | 11% |
| Alger | 106 | +26% | 57 | 27 | $265,000 | $91,500 | 22% | 10% |
| Baraga | 86 | -9% | 46 | 15 | $190,000 | $73,500 | 18% | 4% |
| Ontonagon | 86 | +32% | 42 | 7 | $150,000 | $65,500 | 34% | 21% |
| Schoolcraft | 84 | -5% | 41 | 19 | n/a | $73,500 | 47% | 5% |
| Luce | 77 | +20% | 47 | 9 | n/a | n/a | 37% | 6% |
| Keweenaw | 37 | -5% | 17 | 8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 6% |
| Michigan | 218,394 | +11% | 101,472 | 66,247 | $285,000 | $91,000 | 21% | 14% |
The same table as a spreadsheet: county data (CSV).
How we did it
Method, limits and definitions
How the figures are built
- From the FFIEC's public HMDA data browser, download every 2025 record lenders reported for a property in Michigan (418,530 records), and the 2024 file for comparison (373,290). Both reconcile to the data browser's own totals by action taken, to the record and to the dollar.
- Keep consumer lending: drop business-purpose loans and reverse mortgages.
- An application is a record the lender acted on: made, approved but not accepted, denied, withdrawn, or closed as incomplete. Loans bought from another lender and preapproval-only requests are left out, so a loan is not counted twice.
- Sort each record by purpose: home purchase; refinance and cash-out refinance (first liens); home equity lines of credit (open-end lines that are not for a purchase); home equity loans (closed-end second liens that are not for a purchase); and home improvement and other first liens. The six add up to the whole, and the build checks that they do.
- The share denied is denied applications divided by applications the lender decided (made, approved but not accepted, or denied).
- Home values, buyer incomes, loan types and debt-to-income ratios use the core purchase loan: first lien, owner-occupied, one to four units. Home values also leave out manufactured homes. A county median is shown only on at least 30 loans.
- Counties come from the property's county as the lender reported it. The 83 counties plus the few records with no county add up to the statewide totals.
Sources: FFIEC: HMDA Data Browser, Michigan, 2025 snapshot and 2024 one-year national loan-level datasets; FFIEC: Public HMDA data fields with values and definitions; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Mortgage data (HMDA); U.S. Census Bureau: Cartographic Boundary Files, counties, 2023.
What the figures are not
- HMDA covers lenders above federal reporting thresholds. Very small lenders do not report, so the totals are close to, not exactly, every loan made in Michigan.
- The 2025 figures come from the FFIEC's snapshot file. Lenders can correct their records later, so a later file may differ slightly.
- Loan amounts and property values are reported rounded to the middle of a $10,000 band, so medians move in $10,000 steps.
- Applications are not people. One borrower can apply with more than one lender, and each application counts.
- A denial reason is what the lender reported. It can list up to four, so the reason shares add up to more than 100%.
- The property value is the one the lender relied on, usually the lower of the appraisal and the price, not a sale price.
- The report describes what happened in the year. It does not predict anything and it does not say whether any one person would be approved.
Definitions
- HMDA
- The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Lenders above a size threshold report every mortgage application they act on, and the FFIEC publishes the records with personal details removed.
- Loan made
- An application that closed as a loan. HMDA calls it an origination.
- Share denied
- Denied applications divided by applications the lender decided: made, approved but not accepted, or denied.
- Home equity line of credit
- An open-end line secured by the home that is not for buying it.
- Home equity loan
- A closed-end second mortgage that is not for buying the home.
- Cash-out refinance
- A new first mortgage that replaces the old one and pays the owner part of the equity in cash.
- Debt-to-income ratio
- Monthly debt payments, the new housing payment included, divided by gross monthly income, as the lender calculated it.
- Through a third party
- An application the lender received from someone other than the borrower, such as a mortgage broker or a correspondent lender.
- FHA, VA and USDA
- Loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or the Department of Agriculture's rural housing programs. Everything else is conventional.
Data sources
- FFIEC: HMDA Data Browser, Michigan, 2025 snapshot and 2024 one-year national loan-level datasetsEvery loan application record for a Michigan property. Retrieved October 24, 2026.
- FFIEC: Public HMDA data fields with values and definitionsWhat each field and code means: action taken, purpose, lien, open-end line, denial reasons, debt-to-income bands.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Mortgage data (HMDA)Who reports, the reporting thresholds, and how the data is published.
- U.S. Census Bureau: Cartographic Boundary Files, counties, 2023County outlines for the map.
Downloads
Everything in this report, free to reuse
Citing this research
Use it, and credit Align Lending
The figures, the charts and the data are free to reuse under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Credit Align Lending and link to this page. The underlying records are public HMDA data from the FFIEC.
Align Lending, Michigan Mortgage Market Report, 2025 data.
Broker Owner and Senior Loan Originator at Align Lending, NMLS 1647301. She reads the federal mortgage data the same way she reads a client's file: what happened, and why. About Samantha.
Want to know where you fit in these numbers?
Statewide figures describe everyone. Samantha looks at yours: what you're trying to do, your debts, your credit and the home. No application, no credit pull.
- 1
Tell her what you're trying to do
Buy, refinance, or use some of your equity.
- 2
She looks at your actual numbers
Debt-to-income and credit, the two things behind most denials.
- 3
You leave knowing where you stand
And what to work on first, if anything.
Align Lending LLC, NMLS #2041154, is a mortgage broker. Samantha Shelton, NMLS 1647301. Equal Housing Opportunity. Licensed in Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Texas. This research is published for information. It describes loans lenders reported for 2025; it is not an offer to lend, not a rate quote and not a prediction, and it does not say whether any one person would be approved.
