Athens VA Loan Rates, Closing Costs & Stats

ATHENS-CLARKE COUNTY, GA

A VA loan is a mortgage loan that’s backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for those who have served or are presently serving in the U.S. military. The VA does not directly lend, it guarantees the loans made by private lenders to veterans, active military personnel, and qualifying military spouses.

The most obvious benefit of VA loans is that no downpayment is necessary to purchase a home. They will also typically have significantly lower fees-- meaning that if you're eligible to receive a VA loan, it will likely be the most favorable option. VA loans come in 3 varities: purchase, refinance and cash out refis.

For additional benefits of VA loans, click here.

Athens's 57 lenders originated 193 VA loans during 2024. The total origination value was $69,735,000, with an average VA loan value of $361,321.

Athens VA Loans, 30 Year Fixed Rates

30 Year VA mortgages in Athens averaged 6.5% for the week of 2025-04-04, compared to the national average (all VA variants) of 6.06% for the same period.

Athens's average VA mortgage closing costs are $6,371.

The average rate for the prior week (2025-03-28) was 6.72% and one month ago for the week of 2025-02-28, the average rate was 6.6%.

The average rate one year ago was 7.01%.

For refis of the same type during the week of 2025-04-04, the average rate was 6.63%.

Click on whitespace and scroll within the chart to zoom in/out. Larger bubbles equate with more originations.

Athens VA Loan Lenders by Rates & Fees

The below table looks at the average fees/closing costs and rates for VA 30 Year Fixed Rate (purchase, first lien) mortgages originated by each lender at the Athens level.

Name # of Loans 2024 Avg. 30yFix Rate 2024 Avg. Closing Costs
UNITED WHOLESALE MORTGAGE, LLC 25 5.95% $13,918
Mortgage Research Center, LLC 23 6.48% $6,499
QUICKEN LOANS, LLC 16 5.92% $14,232
FREEDOM MORTGAGE CORPORATION 11 6.20% $6,601
NEW DAY FINANCIAL, LLC 9 7.35% $11,383
USAA Federal Savings Bank 7 6.50% $7,348
GUARANTEED RATE, INC. 6 6.32% $4,047
Ameris Bank 5 6.38% $5,172
Regions Bank 5 5.98% $12,371
FAIRWAY INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE CORPORATION 5 6.33% $11,670
VILLAGE CAPITAL MORTGAGE 4 6.13% $10,290
AMERICAN PACIFIC MORTGAGE CORPORATION 4 6.41% $11,855
NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION 4 5.69% $4,593
MOVEMENT MORTGAGE, LLC 3 5.83% $10,000
PENNYMAC LOAN SERVICES, LLC 3 5.91% $5,442
GUILD MORTGAGE COMPANY 3 6.41% $6,304
GENEVA FINANCIAL, LLC 3 6.83% $12,987
The Federal Savings Bank 2 5.69% $17,424
BANKSOUTH MORTGAGE COMPANY, LLC 2 6.25% $10,989
CROSSCOUNTRY MORTGAGE, LLC 2 5.72% $3,497
EVERETT FINANCIAL, INC. 2 7.00% $8,056
HOMEOWNERS FINANCIAL GROUP USA, LLC 2 5.88% $5,006
LOANDEPOT.COM, LLC 2 5.50% $6,493
Magnolia Bank 2 6.63% $6,855
Mr. Cooper ( Nationstar Mortgage ) 2 6.88% $13,473
Nations Lending Corporation 2 6.69% $15,518
NEWREZ LLC 2 6.50% $10,402
Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, Inc. 2 6.69% $16,374
PLANET HOME LENDING, LLC 2 6.37% $9,624
U.S. Bank 2 6.75% $8,462
United Community Bank 1 5.50% $10,996
MUTUAL OF OMAHA MORTGAGE, INC. 1 6.25% $3,935
AUGUSTA MORTGAGE CO. 1 7.13% $12,808
DHI MORTGAGE COMPANY, LTD. 1 6.13% $8,099
NBKC BANK 1 5.88% $4,519
Cornerstone First Mortgage, Inc 1 6.75% $10,754
Armed Forces Bank 1 5.88% $11,084
NFM, INC. 1 6.88% $6,825
AmeriHome Mortgage Company, LLC 1 6.13% $1,983
Colony Bank 1 6.13% $7,820
PENTAGON FEDERAL CREDIT UNION 1 6.25% $20,202
Plains Commerce Bank 1 6.00% $12,912
VANDERBILT MORTGAGE AND FINANCE, INC. 1 5.75% $650
Prosperity Home Mortgage, LLC 1 5.75% $12,442
CMG MORTGAGE, INC. 1 5.63% $15,360
Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC 1 5.25% $7,051
Sierra Pacific Mortgage Company, Inc. 1 7.25% $8,626
SOUTHEAST MORTGAGE OF GEORGIA, INC. 1 7.25% $9,958
Flagstar Bank, FSB 1 6.38% $5,571
SUN WEST MORTGAGE COMPANY, INC. 1 6.25% $7,479
INB 1 6.25% $3,250
Lakeview Community Capital, LLC 1 5.63% $4,500
LAKEVIEW LOAN SERVICING, LLC 1 4.99% $8,001
CANOPY MORTGAGE, LLC 1 5.63% $19,655
THE MORTGAGE FIRM, INC. 1 7.25% $9,375
First Option Mortgage, LLC 1 6.25% $5,988
Equity Prime Mortgage LLC 1 6.50% $14,109

The top Athens VA lender as defined by loan originations is UNITED WHOLESALE MORTGAGE, LLC, with 25 VA loans originated. Their average total fees are $13,918, which is $7,420 higher than the next largest lender, Mortgage Research Center, LLC.

The lowest fee Athens VA lenders (with over 10 loans originated) are Mortgage Research Center, LLC ($6,499), FREEDOM MORTGAGE CORPORATION ($6,601), UNITED WHOLESALE MORTGAGE, LLC ($13,918), QUICKEN LOANS, LLC ($14,232) and .

The lowest rate Athens VA lenders (with over 10 loans originated) are QUICKEN LOANS, LLC (5.92%), UNITED WHOLESALE MORTGAGE, LLC (5.95%), FREEDOM MORTGAGE CORPORATION (6.20%), Mortgage Research Center, LLC (6.48%) and .


Market Conditions (Median, Average Prices & Listing Count)

Realtor.com - Athens (CBSA) retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Date Median Listing Price (YoY Change) Average Listing Price (YoY) MSA/US Median Price Ratio Active Listings
2018-01-01 $270,425 (12.8%) $319,503 (12.1%) 1.00 587
2018-02-01 $282,475 (11.3%) $325,511 (11.1%) 1.03 649
2018-03-01 $286,950 (9.8%) $331,594 (12.9%) 1.01 693
2018-04-01 $293,925 (13.1%) $349,659 (15.6%) 1.00 712
2018-05-01 $294,850 (7.7%) $351,501 (14.4%) 0.98 723
2018-06-01 $294,500 (6.4%) $354,021 (15.7%) 0.98 735
2018-07-01 $284,925 (2.3%) $349,018 (11.9%) 0.95 742
2018-08-01 $276,500 (0.6%) $342,146 (9.0%) 0.93 744
2018-09-01 $275,500 (2.3%) $338,037 (9.8%) 0.93 775
2018-10-01 $270,368 (0.2%) $325,702 (4.2%) 0.92 773
2018-11-01 $264,975 (-1.8%) $322,156 (3.3%) 0.90 750
2018-12-01 $269,900 (0.0%) $326,773 (3.0%) 0.93 698
2019-01-01 $280,480 (3.7%) $333,195 (4.3%) 0.97 641
2019-02-01 $289,900 (2.6%) $347,888 (6.9%) 0.98 693
2019-03-01 $295,814 (3.1%) $354,862 (7.0%) 0.97 684
2019-04-01 $308,450 (4.9%) $371,519 (6.3%) 0.98 664
2019-05-01 $315,200 (6.9%) $376,581 (7.1%) 0.99 653
2019-06-01 $309,450 (5.1%) $373,480 (5.5%) 0.97 667
2019-07-01 $298,500 (4.8%) $368,217 (5.5%) 0.93 669
2019-08-01 $295,909 (7.0%) $363,730 (6.3%) 0.94 649
2019-09-01 $292,023 (6.0%) $360,741 (6.7%) 0.93 635
2019-10-01 $291,182 (7.7%) $361,510 (11.0%) 0.94 618
2019-11-01 $298,154 (12.5%) $377,867 (17.3%) 0.98 576
2019-12-01 $288,875 (7.0%) $375,713 (15.0%) 0.96 558
2020-01-01 $287,000 (2.3%) $381,826 (14.6%) 0.96 506
2020-02-01 $309,950 (6.9%) $397,176 (14.2%) 1.01 509
2020-03-01 $314,871 (6.4%) $406,368 (14.5%) 0.99 537
2020-04-01 $320,115 (3.8%) $402,254 (8.3%) 1.00 556
2020-05-01 $324,500 (3.0%) $407,465 (8.2%) 0.99 537
2020-06-01 $327,900 (6.0%) $416,180 (11.4%) 0.97 499
2020-07-01 $314,675 (5.4%) $404,156 (9.8%) 0.91 506
2020-08-01 $299,950 (1.4%) $400,447 (10.1%) 0.86 499
2020-09-01 $312,750 (7.1%) $399,032 (10.6%) 0.90 443
2020-10-01 $315,490 (8.4%) $408,710 (13.1%) 0.90 397
2020-11-01 $320,763 (7.6%) $412,131 (9.1%) 0.94 363
2020-12-01 $322,663 (11.7%) $428,632 (14.1%) 0.96 326
2021-01-01 $325,000 (13.2%) $432,831 (13.4%) 0.97 283
2021-02-01 $344,829 (11.3%) $451,189 (13.6%) 1.00 250
2021-03-01 $366,750 (16.5%) $449,826 (10.7%) 1.04 232
2021-04-01 $371,700 (16.1%) $453,729 (12.8%) 1.01 243
2021-05-01 $369,450 (13.9%) $469,137 (15.1%) 0.98 245
2021-06-01 $359,975 (9.8%) $474,711 (14.1%) 0.95 296
2021-07-01 $368,750 (17.2%) $474,014 (17.3%) 0.97 347
2021-08-01 $349,900 (16.7%) $448,667 (12.0%) 0.93 339
2021-09-01 $349,900 (11.9%) $447,954 (12.3%) 0.93 329
2021-10-01 $339,850 (7.7%) $449,279 (9.9%) 0.91 309
2021-11-01 $348,000 (8.5%) $478,984 (16.2%) 0.93 257
2021-12-01 $349,450 (8.3%) $492,700 (15.0%) 0.95 207
2022-01-01 $362,450 (11.5%) $516,679 (19.4%) 0.98 177
2022-02-01 $374,975 (8.7%) $499,372 (10.7%) 0.98 184
2022-03-01 $394,250 (7.5%) $513,171 (14.1%) 0.99 186
2022-04-01 $382,450 (2.9%) $511,244 (12.7%) 0.91 214
2022-05-01 $359,925 (-2.6%) $508,516 (8.4%) 0.82 252
2022-06-01 $359,950 (0.0%) $512,289 (7.9%) 0.80 305
2022-07-01 $383,900 (4.1%) $501,358 (5.8%) 0.86 404
2022-08-01 $380,925 (8.9%) $506,538 (12.9%) 0.88 440
2022-09-01 $385,800 (10.3%) $507,161 (13.2%) 0.90 448
2022-10-01 $392,500 (15.5%) $525,320 (16.9%) 0.92 431
2022-11-01 $393,175 (13.0%) $533,482 (11.4%) 0.95 414
2022-12-01 $399,999 (14.5%) $537,623 (9.1%) 0.99 407
2023-01-01 $413,450 (14.1%) $551,266 (6.7%) 1.02 358
2023-02-01 $399,925 (6.7%) $541,381 (8.4%) 0.97 360
2023-03-01 $399,800 (1.4%) $547,367 (6.7%) 0.94 354
2023-04-01 $399,900 (4.6%) $535,713 (4.8%) 0.93 346
2023-05-01 $406,950 (13.1%) $543,849 (7.0%) 0.92 364
2023-06-01 $423,500 (17.7%) $556,856 (8.7%) 0.95 433
2023-07-01 $417,450 (8.7%) $574,548 (14.6%) 0.95 408
2023-08-01 $437,445 (14.8%) $588,386 (16.2%) 1.00 410
2023-09-01 $449,900 (16.6%) $585,012 (15.4%) 1.05 439
2023-10-01 $461,000 (17.5%) $573,288 (9.1%) 1.08 440
2023-11-01 $431,667 (9.8%) $562,076 (5.4%) 1.03 454
2023-12-01 $467,000 (16.8%) $571,371 (6.3%) 1.14 435
2024-01-01 $441,750 (6.8%) $543,134 (-1.5%) 1.08 428
2024-02-01 $448,750 (12.2%) $548,985 (1.4%) 1.08 419
2024-03-01 $475,000 (18.8%) $568,783 (3.9%) 1.12 467
2024-04-01 $480,000 (20.0%) $598,261 (11.7%) 1.12 483
2024-05-01 $492,000 (20.9%) $617,371 (13.5%) 1.12 486
2024-06-01 $475,000 (12.2%) $612,392 (10.0%) 1.08 519
2024-07-01 $459,000 (10.0%) $603,132 (5.0%) 1.05 594
2024-08-01 $429,000 (-1.9%) $585,910 (-0.4%) 1.00 609
2024-09-01 $429,975 (-4.4%) $590,868 (1.0%) 1.01 621
2024-10-01 $449,750 (-2.4%) $591,196 (3.1%) 1.06 641
2024-11-01 $450,000 (4.3%) $590,178 (5.0%) 1.08 616
2024-12-01 $454,000 (-2.8%) $591,955 (3.6%) 1.13 556
2025-01-01 $458,488 (3.8%) $594,572 (9.5%) 1.14 530
2025-02-01 $462,000 (3.0%) $587,118 (7.0%) 1.12 536
2025-03-01 $480,450 (1.2%) $600,393 (5.6%) 0.00 585
Athens's median listing price for 2025-03-01 was $480,450, a difference of $5,450 (1.2%) versus the prior year and $18,450 versus the prior month.

Athens's median listing price comes in at 0% of the national average.

Athens's average listing price for 2025-03-01 was $600,393, a difference of $31,610 (5.6%) versus the prior year and $13,275 versus the prior month.

For the 2025-03-01 period, Athens had 585 MLS listings, a difference of 49 listings (9%) versus the prior month and 118 listings (25%) versus the prior year.

Median Listing Time on Market & Square Footage

Realtor.com - Athens (CBSA) retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Date Median Listing Time on Market Median Square Footage
2018-01-01 90 days 2,392 sqft
2018-02-01 60 days 2,474 sqft
2018-03-01 40 days 2,450 sqft
2018-04-01 52 days 2,454 sqft
2018-05-01 54 days 2,410 sqft
2018-06-01 53 days 2,400 sqft
2018-07-01 59 days 2,378 sqft
2018-08-01 63 days 2,326 sqft
2018-09-01 64 days 2,300 sqft
2018-10-01 74 days 2,278 sqft
2018-11-01 79 days 2,244 sqft
2018-12-01 88 days 2,280 sqft
2019-01-01 93 days 2,332 sqft
2019-02-01 70 days 2,394 sqft
2019-03-01 59 days 2,468 sqft
2019-04-01 61 days 2,583 sqft
2019-05-01 58 days 2,568 sqft
2019-06-01 59 days 2,572 sqft
2019-07-01 63 days 2,551 sqft
2019-08-01 66 days 2,500 sqft
2019-09-01 70 days 2,477 sqft
2019-10-01 72 days 2,459 sqft
2019-11-01 75 days 2,424 sqft
2019-12-01 90 days 2,408 sqft
2020-01-01 84 days 2,411 sqft
2020-02-01 54 days 2,474 sqft
2020-03-01 54 days 2,461 sqft
2020-04-01 60 days 2,393 sqft
2020-05-01 66 days 2,405 sqft
2020-06-01 63 days 2,396 sqft
2020-07-01 51 days 2,376 sqft
2020-08-01 50 days 2,298 sqft
2020-09-01 56 days 2,273 sqft
2020-10-01 61 days 2,220 sqft
2020-11-01 62 days 2,228 sqft
2020-12-01 68 days 2,216 sqft
2021-01-01 64 days 2,200 sqft
2021-02-01 59 days 2,219 sqft
2021-03-01 43 days 2,249 sqft
2021-04-01 32 days 2,245 sqft
2021-05-01 36 days 2,114 sqft
2021-06-01 35 days 2,110 sqft
2021-07-01 37 days 2,064 sqft
2021-08-01 41 days 1,965 sqft
2021-09-01 46 days 2,022 sqft
2021-10-01 53 days 1,939 sqft
2021-11-01 55 days 2,081 sqft
2021-12-01 59 days 1,971 sqft
2022-01-01 43 days 2,150 sqft
2022-02-01 35 days 2,112 sqft
2022-03-01 32 days 2,123 sqft
2022-04-01 28 days 2,100 sqft
2022-05-01 29 days 2,121 sqft
2022-06-01 29 days 2,132 sqft
2022-07-01 32 days 2,200 sqft
2022-08-01 45 days 2,095 sqft
2022-09-01 52 days 2,177 sqft
2022-10-01 55 days 2,221 sqft
2022-11-01 65 days 2,205 sqft
2022-12-01 78 days 2,218 sqft
2023-01-01 77 days 2,250 sqft
2023-02-01 70 days 2,250 sqft
2023-03-01 53 days 2,239 sqft
2023-04-01 40 days 2,227 sqft
2023-05-01 41 days 2,236 sqft
2023-06-01 37 days 2,306 sqft
2023-07-01 50 days 2,306 sqft
2023-08-01 53 days 2,322 sqft
2023-09-01 57 days 2,341 sqft
2023-10-01 61 days 2,360 sqft
2023-11-01 59 days 2,273 sqft
2023-12-01 59 days 2,291 sqft
2024-01-01 60 days 2,272 sqft
2024-02-01 57 days 2,269 sqft
2024-03-01 52 days 2,362 sqft
2024-04-01 52 days 2,320 sqft
2024-05-01 48 days 2,250 sqft
2024-06-01 52 days 2,250 sqft
2024-07-01 49 days 2,217 sqft
2024-08-01 58 days 2,204 sqft
2024-09-01 60 days 2,222 sqft
2024-10-01 61 days 2,232 sqft
2024-11-01 69 days 2,216 sqft
2024-12-01 77 days 2,170 sqft
2025-01-01 80 days 2,170 sqft
2025-02-01 70 days 2,170 sqft
2025-03-01 0 days 2,170 sqft
Athens's median listing age (time on market) for 2025-03-01 was 0 days. This is -100% shorter than the same period one year ago.

Athens's median square footage for active listings during the 2025-03-01 period was 2,170 sqft. One year prior, the average listing was 2,362 sqft.

VA Loan Features

  • No down payment required
  • Negotiable and competitive interest rate.
  • Ability to finance the VA funding fee (plus reduced funding fees with a down payment of at least 5 percent and exemption for veterans receiving VA compensation).
  • VA rules limit the amount you can be charged for closing costs.
  • Closing costs are comparable with other financing types (and may be lower).
  • Closing costs may be paid by the seller.
  • No private mortgage insurance premiums are required.
  • An assumable mortgage.
  • Right to prepay your mortgage without penalty.
  • For homes inspected by VA during construction, a warranty from builder and assistance from VA to obtain cooperation of builder.
  • VA assistance to veteran borrowers in default due to temporary financial difficulty.