Mortgages in California
How California’s mortgages compare with the rest of the country: what new loans cost and how many are behind, how much equity owners have, who pays for mortgage insurance and how close they are to dropping it, and how fast loans get paid off, or paid ahead. From Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHFA loan data, updated as each quarter’s is released.Mortgage rates in CaliforniaThe average rate on Freddie Mac loans made in California from July 2025 through June 2026 — 0.07 points below the national average for a 30-year loan. Rates have moved since, so read this as where California sits against the rest of the country, not as what a lender will quote you today.
30-year fixed6.26%U.S. 6.33% · 67,914 loans
15-year fixed5.55%U.S. 5.66% · 4,565 loans
How California’s mortgages are holding up
Rated against the national average, mostly on how many loans are headed into or have been through foreclosure, partly on how many are 30–89 days behind. Late payments are every kind of mortgage, FHA, VA and USDA loans included, in June 2026, from the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s National Mortgage Database; finished foreclosures are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans over the latest year of each.
Strong
3rd healthiest of the 50 states and DC| CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|
| Behind 90+ days or in foreclosure | 0.7% | 1.2% |
| Behind 30–89 days | 1.1% | 1.7% |
| Foreclosures finished in the past year, per 10,000 loans | 3.0 | 4.9 |
Data as of June 2026
Home prices in CaliforniaThe average home bought with a mortgage in California cost $892,000 in 2025, against $483,000 nationally. That’s 72% more than in 2015 (U.S. 70% more).
The average price of the homes bought with a mortgage each year (cash sales aren’t counted), from the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s National Mortgage Database. Being an average, it can be lifted by a few expensive sales, and in smaller states it moves around from year to year.
California $892,000
U.S. $483,000
| CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $892,000 | $483,000 |
| 2020 | $670,000 | $359,000 |
| 2015 | $518,000 | $284,000 |
| 1998 | $206,000 | $140,000 |
How much equity California owners haveOn average, California homeowners with a mortgage owe 40.7% of what their homes are worth now (U.S. 45.1%). 7.0% have less than 20% equity, against 10.3% nationally.
Every first-lien mortgage, FHA, VA and USDA loans included, in June 2026, against the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s estimate of what each home was worth then, from its National Mortgage Database. A second mortgage taken out to cover part of a down payment counts as borrowed.
| CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|
| Owe 60% or less of what the home is worth | 80.3% | 74.1% |
| Owe 61–80% | 12.8% | 15.6% |
| Owe more than 80% | 7.0% | 10.3% |
| Owe more than the home is worth | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Average down payment on a home bought in 2025 | 22.7% | 18.8% |
| Buyers who put less than 5% down | 19.6% | 26.5% |
Mortgage insurance in California13.2% of California’s Freddie Mac loans still carry private mortgage insurance (U.S. 23.6%). About 27.9% of those borrowers look able to cancel it on what their home is worth today. On the home’s original value, the typical one would need $37,500 of extra principal to reach 80%, when they can ask.
See how extra payments bring that day closerFreddie Mac loans: new ones made from July 2025 through June 2026, and those active in June 2026. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac let a borrower cancel on a new appraisal once the loan is two years old, at 75% of today’s value until year five and 80% after, with a clean payment record; Freddie’s own estimate of each home’s value stands in for the appraisal here. Federal law lets a borrower ask once the balance is down to 80% of what the home was worth at the start. Insurance the lender pays for can’t be cancelled, and FHA loans carry their own.
| CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|
| New home purchase loans with PMI | 36.0% | 44.0% |
| First-time buyers’ loans with PMI | 44.7% | 57.0% |
| Loans still paying PMI | 13.2% | 23.6% |
| Of those, could likely cancel on today’s value | 27.9% | 36.1% |
| Of those, paid down to 80% of the original value | 9.1% | 8.4% |
| Typical extra principal to get to 80% | $37,500 | $23,800 |
How fast California mortgages get paid off60.1% of California mortgages have a rate under 4% (U.S. 49.1%), and their owners hold on to them: 3.2% of those Freddie Mac loans were paid off over the past year, against 21.3% of loans at 6% or more.
Rates are on every first-lien mortgage in June 2026, from FHFA’s National Mortgage Database. Payoffs are Freddie Mac loans paid off in full from July 2025 through June 2026, mostly by refinancing or selling the home. A year ahead counts Freddie Mac fixed-rate loans in June 2026, current and never modified, whose balance is where their original schedule would have it a year or more later.
A year or more ahead of schedule14.3%of California borrowers current on a Freddie Mac fixed-rate loan · U.S. 18.3%
| CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgages under 4% | 60.1% | 49.1% |
| Mortgages at 4% to 6% | 24.2% | 28.5% |
| Mortgages at 6% or more | 15.7% | 22.5% |
| Average rate, every mortgage | 4.0% | 4.4% |
| Paid off in the past year, every loan | 6.7% | 8.4% |
| Paid off, rate under 4% | 3.2% | 4.9% |
| Paid off, rate 4% to 6% | 5.8% | 7.2% |
| Paid off, rate 6% or more | 21.3% | 16.5% |
Data as of June 2026Compare every state