These States Have the Highest Share of Assumable Mortgages

With high housing costs, those who are hoping to purchase a home need to think outside the box in order to do so. One way to purchase a home with a lower mortgage rate is through a home loan assumption, where the buyer takes over the home’s original mortgage and interest rate. According to housing market platform Realtor.com, more than 11 million homeowners in the U.S. have assumable loans, but some states are easier to secure these loans than others. The state with the highest share of assumable mortgages is Alaska, with 39.3% of mortgages being assumable, followed by Wyoming and Virginia at 34.4% and 34.1%, respectively. Despite assumable loans being more obtainable in these markets, securing this type of loan is not without its challenges.

Assumable mortgages can be hard to get because there’s not a big upside for lenders. On conventional loans, banks rake in hefty closing costs that range from 2% to 7% of a home’s purchase price. On an assumable loan, fees max out at $300 for VA loans and $900 for FHA ones.

Since the majority of lenders aren’t used to dealing with assumable loans, they don’t always know how to do so—especially since the underwriting systems on these loans are manual instead of automated.

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