Mortgage lending in Essex County
15,571 mortgages were originated in Essex County, Massachusetts, 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
- 15,571
- Median rate
- 6.625%
- Median lender fees
- $5,189
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
- $385,000
- Above the going rate (spread over APOR)
- 0.084
- Paid discount points
- 21.8%
- Received lender credits
- 19.5%
- Purchases / refinances
- 44.3% / 32.3%
- Conventional / FHA / VA
- 90.4% / 7.5% / 2%
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 59% of loans here — see methodology.
Loan limits here in 2026
- Conforming limit
- $962,550
- FHA limit
- $962,550
- Median home price
- $837,000
- That home, 20% down
- $669,600
A median-priced home with 20% down leaves $292,950 of room under the conforming limit, so the ceiling rarely binds on an ordinary purchase.
This is a high-cost area: loans above $832,750 are still agency-backed here, as high-balance, where a plain conforming loan would stop. 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 Essex County, ranked by volume.
| Lender | Loans | Median fees | Median rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizens Bank, National Association | 1,020 | $6,904 | 7.400% |
| Eastern Bank | 810 | $4,297 | 6.990% |
| Guaranteed Rate, Inc. | 795 | $5,959 | 6.500% |
| Crosscountry Mortgage, Inc. | 763 | $5,646 | 6.750% |
| Rocket Mortgage, LLC | 742 | $4,258 | 6.990% |
| Leader Bank, National Association | 594 | $4,812 | 6.375% |
| Salem Five Cents Savings Bank | 521 | — | 5.990% |
| United Shore Financial Services, LLC | 493 | $8,875 | 6.500% |
| Salem Five Mortgage Company, LLC | 426 | $4,629 | 6.250% |
| Bank of America, National Association | 409 | $4,688 | 6.240% |
What lenders charged here
Lender fees on a $385,000 loan, based on what was actually charged in Essex County — not a rule of thumb.
From 9,182 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