Mortgage lending in Merced County
3,637 mortgages were originated in Merced County, California, in 2025.
30-year fixed, this week
6.71%
Freddie Mac's survey average for the week of September 3, 2026 — a year earlier it was 6.56%, and the past year ranged 5.98–6.71%. The figures below are from 2025 filings and do not move with the market. Rate history
- Loans originated
- 3,637
- Median rate
- 6.624%
- Median lender fees
- $8,760
The going rate is the federal "average prime offer rate" for a comparable loan; 0.5 means half a percentage point above it.
- Median loan amount
- $315,000
- Above the going rate (spread over APOR)
- 0.408
- Paid discount points
- 44.7%
- Received lender credits
- 22.9%
- Purchases / refinances
- 55.5% / 28.4%
- Conventional / FHA / VA
- 68.5% / 26% / 5.4%
Figures are medians of loans actually originated in 2025, as reported under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. They describe what borrowers received, not what you would be offered: HMDA contains no credit scores, so these numbers cannot be read as pricing for any individual. Lender fees are reported for 71.6% of loans here — see methodology.
Loan limits here in 2026
- Conforming limit
- $832,750
- FHA limit
- $541,287
- Median home price
- $420,000
- That home, 20% down
- $336,000
A median-priced home with 20% down leaves $496,750 of room under the conforming limit, so the ceiling rarely binds on an ordinary purchase.
Borrow more than $832,750 and the loan becomes jumbo — outside agency rules, priced by each lender on its own terms. How limits work
Median price is HUD's figure for the 2026 limit calculation, not a live market quote.
Who lent here
Lenders with at least 50 loans in Merced County, ranked by volume.
| Lender | Loans | Median fees | Median rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Shore Financial Services, LLC | 463 | $11,417 | 6.131% |
| Rocket Mortgage, LLC | 261 | $5,013 | 6.875% |
| Leaderone Financial Corporation | 214 | $10,781 | 6.375% |
| DHI Mortgage Company, Ltd. | 182 | $10,536 | 5.500% |
| Guaranteed Rate, Inc. | 126 | $12,726 | 6.250% |
| Merced School Employees Federal Credit Union | 103 | — | — |
| Kind Lending, LLC | 97 | $12,061 | 6.500% |
| Pennymac Loan Services, LLC | 68 | $4,929 | 6.750% |
| Inspire Home Loans Inc. | 62 | $5,261 | 5.875% |
| Loandepot.Com, LLC | 61 | $6,962 | 6.875% |
What lenders charged here
Lender fees on a $315,000 loan, based on what was actually charged in Merced County — not a rule of thumb.
From 2,605 loans where fees were reported. This is what the lender charges — sections A and B of a Loan Estimate. Title, appraisal, taxes and the escrow deposit your lender collects up front for future tax and insurance bills are extra and not in these figures. Compare two offers