Mortgage lending · HMDA · 2018–2025
Who's buying, and how they pay
Nearly every mortgage lender reports every application to the federal government: the loan, the price, the rate, the buyer's income, whether they'll live there. Here is what those records say about Benton and Washington counties, with no names and no single loan shown.
Investors
buyers who won't live there
| Year | Purchase loans | Share | Typical price | Typical loan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,530 | 15.4% | $345K | $255K |
| 2024 | 1,370 | 14.1% | $335K | $235K |
| 2023 | 1,156 | 12.8% | $305K | $225K |
| 2022 | 1,565 | 15.3% | $295K | $225K |
| 2021 | 1,881 | 15.1% | $235K | $175K |
| 2020 | 1,439 | 11.6% | $195K | $155K |
| 2019 | 1,372 | 13.0% | $185K | $145K |
| 2018 | 1,362 | 12.9% | $175K | $125K |
Typical price and loan: financed investor purchases of site-built 1–4 unit homes. All-cash investor purchases don't appear in HMDA, so the true investor share is higher.
Apartment buildings
5+ units, all purposes
| Year | Loans made | Dollars | Purchase loans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 139 | $691.3M | 87 |
| 2024 | 90 | $527.2M | 62 |
| 2023 | 89 | $527.6M | 65 |
| 2022 | 131 | $469.2M | 91 |
| 2021 | 226 | $1.01B | 111 |
| 2020 | 207 | $346.0M | 76 |
| 2019 | 152 | $575.6M | 81 |
| 2018 | 131 | $321.5M | 72 |
HMDA covers apartment loans only from lenders that report (banks and mortgage companies). Agency, life-company and CMBS loans are largely outside it; read this as a floor.
Benton vs Washington
2025
| Measure | Benton | Washington |
|---|---|---|
| Home-purchase loans | 6,279 | 3,665 |
| Typical price paid | $405,000 | $355,000 |
| Typical loan | $335,000 | $305,000 |
| Typical buyer income | $130,000 | $110,000 |
| Bought by investors | 15.2% | 15.7% |
| FHA or VA loans | 20.4% | 24.3% |
| Applications denied | 7.8% | 10.3% |
Busiest tracts
owner-occupant purchases, 2025
| Area | Tract | Loans | Typical price | Buyer income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highfill | 0213.05 | 401 | $515K | $172K |
| Bentonville | 0213.04 | 344 | $415K | $140K |
| Bella Vista | 0207.01 | 304 | $325K | $110K |
| Bella Vista | 0208.01 | 234 | $395K | $126K |
| Rural Benton County | 0201.03 | 202 | $375K | $120K |
| Little Flock | 0201.02 | 196 | $475K | $140K |
| Rural Washington County | 0101.09 | 192 | $335K | $92K |
| Rural Washington County | 0110.05 | 177 | $295K | $90K |
| Rural Washington County | 0105.15 | 171 | $370K | $115K |
| Rural Benton County | 0209.06 | 167 | $530K | $145K |
| Bella Vista | 0208.06 | 164 | $395K | $125K |
| Tontitown | 0105.01 | 164 | $535K | $155K |
| Springdale | 0213.17 | 145 | $465K | $159K |
| Rural Benton County | 0213.12 | 140 | $315K | $100K |
| Cave Springs | 0213.16 | 138 | $655K | $174K |
Area = the city holding the tract's center (NWARPC city limits). A tract with lots of loans is usually new construction.
Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and FFIEC, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data via the HMDA Data Browser, 2018–2025. Home-purchase applications and loans on properties in Benton and Washington counties, by the year the application was acted on. Loan amounts and values are reported rounded to the $10,000 midpoint. 'Typical loan' figures use owner-occupied, first-lien, site-built 1–4 unit homes. Census tracts with fewer than 5 such loans are withheld. Covers lenders required to report (nearly all mortgages; not cash sales). Records with impossible amounts (listed in dropped_as_errors) are left out. Market commentary, not advice.
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