Mortgage Approval and Denial Rates in Massachusetts (2025 HMDA)
Mortgage denial rates in Massachusetts: lenders acted on 215,901 mortgage applications in Massachusetts in 2025 and denied 16.1% of them, down from 18.3% in 2024. The national denial rate was 17.7%.
Applications acted on
215,901
Loans originated
135,275
Denial rate
16.1%
Median loan
$325,000
Massachusetts against the national picture
Most-reported denial reason in Massachusetts: Debt-to-income ratio.
Counties ranked by denial rate
| County | Applications | Denial rate | Median loan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nantucket County | 724 | 20.7% | $960,000 |
| Suffolk County | 16,586 | 19.3% | $445,000 |
| Dukes County | 896 | 18.5% | $605,000 |
| Plymouth County | 20,900 | 17.9% | $305,000 |
| Bristol County | 18,459 | 17.6% | $295,000 |
| Essex County | 25,027 | 17.3% | $335,000 |
| Barnstable County | 11,508 | 16.9% | $325,000 |
| Hampden County | 14,465 | 16.6% | $215,000 |
| Berkshire County | 4,403 | 15.9% | $195,000 |
| Norfolk County | 22,367 | 15.8% | $395,000 |
| Worcester County | 29,755 | 15.1% | $295,000 |
| Middlesex County | 44,905 | 13.7% | $425,000 |
| Franklin County | 2,010 | 13.7% | $215,000 |
| Hampshire County | 3,896 | 12.0% | $225,000 |
Find out what you'd be approved for in Massachusetts
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Reading these numbers
The denial rate counts applications the lender acted on, so withdrawn files do not inflate it. A high rate does not automatically mean strict lenders: counties with many first-time or lower-income applicants tend to show higher denial rates because of debt-to-income and credit-history thresholds, which are the two reasons lenders report most often. Median loan amount and median applicant income are computed from the same application records, so they describe who is applying — not who ends up buying.
Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, HMDA Data Browser (2025 loan application register). Latest observation 2026-08-23.