Ready to hit the housing market in the Buckeye State? Expect below-average home values but a growing market. Ohio has 5.2 million housing units and a homeownership rate of 66%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 American Community Survey.
The state’s median housing value is $144,200, which falls below the national average of $217,600. Home values can vary by region, though, providing many options for Ohio’s 11.6 million residents.
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AmeriSave Mortgage Corp. is an online lender that has been in business since 2002. It was one of the first to offer an offsite digital mortgage experience for customers. The company says it has financed more than 664,000 borrowers since it began operating. With headquarters in Atlanta, AmeriSave services loans in 49 states and Washington, D.C.
Pentagon Federal Credit Union, widely known as PenFed, offers borrowers access to many types of mortgages: conventional, adjustable rate, jumbo and Department of Veterans Affairs, plus refinancing loans and home equity lines of credit. The financial institution, which serves 2.8 million members, was established in 1935 and is based in McLean, Virginia.
Best for low APR
New American Funding is a mortgage lender offering a variety of home loan options to homebuyers and homeowners nationwide except for Hawaii. The company, founded in 2003 and based in Tustin, California, has originated $64.2 billion in mortgages to date.
PNC Bank is one of the largest banks in the United States, serving more than 9 million customers in all 50 states. A full-service mortgage lender, PNC offers most mortgage loan product types.
Bank of America serves roughly 67 million customers in all 50 states. The lender offers conventional, Federal Housing Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs and jumbo loans as well as home equity lines of credit and mortgage refinancing.
Guaranteed Rate, founded in 2000 and based in Chicago, offers mortgage options including conventional loans, FHA loans, jumbo loans and interest-only loans to customers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Borrowers can take advantage of specialized loan products and Guaranteed Rate’s online application, documentation and loan payment options.
SoFi is an online lender founded in 2011 and headquartered in San Francisco that offers fixed-rate mortgages. Refinance, jumbo and home equity loans are also available.
Best for customer service
Rocket Mortgage, the largest mortgage lender in the nation, was founded in 1985. The Detroit-based company is best known for its fully digital experience of buying or refinancing a home. Rocket Mortgage changed its name from Quicken Loans in the summer of 2021.
Chase, one of the world’s largest banks, was founded in 1799 in New York and offers fixed-rate, refinance and other mortgage loans.
Best for online application and approval
Homefinity launched in 2018 as the online lending division of Fairway Independent Mortgage. It offers a variety of mortgage products, including conventional mortgages, FHA and VA mortgages, and mortgage refinancing.
The average mortgage rate in Ohio is currently 4.41% for the 30-year fixed loan term.
Here are the interest rates offered to Ohio residents looking to buy or refinance a home as of 02/07/2023:
- 30-year fixed purchase: 4.41%
- 30-year fixed refi: 1.39%
- 15-year fixed purchase: 4.79%
- 15-year fixed refi: 3.8%
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Mortgage rates rose this week, with the average 30-year fixed rate jumping to 6.73% from 6.55% a week ago. Most fixed and adjustable rates are trending higher as the Federal Reserve tightens its monetary policy in response to mixed economic signals.
Mortgage interest rates are nearly twice as high as they were at the beginning of 2022, which continues to have a tangible impact on mortgage affordability and consumer housing sentiment. However, mortgage rates are widely expected to fall throughout the course of 2023. Here are the current mortgage rates, without discount points unless otherwise noted, as of Feb. 16:
- 30-year fixed: 6.73% (up from 6.55% a week ago).
- 20-year fixed: 6.77% (up from 6.62% a week ago).
- 15-year fixed: 6.02% (up from 5.75% a week ago).
- 10-year fixed: 5.97% (up from 5.77% a week ago).
- 5/1 ARM: 5.43% (up from 5.38% a week ago).
- 7/1 ARM: 5.7% (down from 5.81% a week ago).
- 10/1 ARM: 5.9% (up from 5.87% a week ago).
- 30-year jumbo loans: 6.78% (up from 6.59% a week ago).
- 30-year FHA loans: 5.98% with 0.06 point (up from 5.75% a week ago).
- VA purchase loans: 6.08% with 0.05 point (up from 5.86% a week ago).
Ohio homebuyers can get mortgage interest tax credits and help with down payments and closing costs from these programs.
- Available to: Homebuyers who meet one of three criteria, including first-time homebuyers and buyers who have not had an ownership interest in a primary residence in the last three years; honorably discharged veterans; and homebuyers purchasing a home in a target area. Designed especially for homebuyers with low and moderate incomes.
- Income limits: Vary by county.
- First-time homebuyers only?: No.
- Loan options: 30-year fixed-rate mortgages.
- Down payment and closing cost assistance: You can also use either the Your Choice! Down Payment Assistance program or the agency’s Advantage program for conventional loans.
- Available to: People who are not first-time homebuyers and meet other program requirements, such as income and purchase price limits.
- Income limits: Vary by county.
- First-time homebuyers only?: No.
- Loan options: 30-year fixed-rate mortgages.
- Down payment and closing cost assistance: You can also use either the Your Choice! Down Payment Assistance program or the OHFA Advantage program for conventional loans.
- Available to: Homebuyers using an OHFA program.
- Income limits: Vary by county.
- First-time homebuyers only?: No.
- Benefit: Allows homebuyers to choose either 2.5% or 5% of the home’s purchase price to apply toward down payments, closing costs or other preclosing expenses. This assistance is forgiven after seven years.
- Available to: OHFA conventional loan borrowers.
- Income limits: Vary by county.
- First-time homebuyers only?: No.
- Benefit: $2,500 for homebuyers whose income falls within 50% of the area median income in the county where they purchase a home; $1,500 for homebuyers whose income falls within 80% of the area median income in the county where they purchase a home.
- Available to: Ohio residents who serve the public, including veterans, active-duty military members or members of reserve components, including surviving spouses; police officers, firefighters, volunteer firefighters, EMTs and paramedics; physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses (RNs and LPNs) and STNAs; and teachers (pre-K through grade 12), administrators and counselors.
- Income limits: vary by county.
- First-time homebuyers only?: No.
- Benefit: Discounted mortgage interest rate.
- Available to: Ohio residents who have graduated within the last 48 months with an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate or other post-graduate degree from an accredited college or university.
- Income limits: Vary by county.
- First-time homebuyers only?: Yes
- Benefit: Rewarded with a discounted mortgage interest rate and 2.5% or 5% down payment assistance. Down payment assistance is forgiven after five years, as long as you remain in Ohio.
- Available to: Homebuyers using an OHFA program.
- Income limits: Vary by county.
- First-time homebuyers only?: No.
- Benefit: First-time homebuyers using Mortgage Tax Credit Plus receive a tax credit of 40% of the home mortgage interest, a maximum annual tax credit of $2,000. With Mortgage Tax Credit Basic, the credit is 30% for a bank-owned property, 25% for a property located in a target area and 20% for all other properties.
Note: Some OHFA programs can be combined. See chart for more details.
U.S. News selects the Best Loan Companies by evaluating affordability, borrower eligibility criteria and customer service. Those with the highest overall scores are considered the best lenders.
To calculate each score, we use data about the lender and its loan offerings, giving greater weight to factors that matter most to borrowers. For mortgage lenders, we take into account each company’s customer service ratings, interest rates, loan product availability, minimum down payment, minimum FICO score and online features.
The weight each scoring factor receives is based on a nationwide survey on what borrowers look for in a lender.
To receive a rating, lenders must offer qualifying loans nationwide and have a good reputation within the industry. Read more about our methodology.
To recap, here are the picks:
Best Ohio Mortgage Lenders of 2023
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where offers appear on the site but do not affect any editorial decisions,
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does not include all loan companies or all loan offers available in the marketplace.
