Americans took out more than 5.2 million mortgages in total last year, as properties exchanged hands at a brisk volume—and pace—unseen since the last time a hot U.S. housing market collapsed.
Homebuyers took out the most mortgages for a primary home residence—not for investment properties—in Utah, Colorado, Idaho, and South Carolina.
States in the Midwest and mid-Atlantic as well as Florida and Alaska were the hottest states for new home loans last year.
Conventional loans were the loan type of choice for the majority of homebuyers in 2021. Alaskan homebuyers used conventional loans less than any other state.
The highest percentage of VA loans by state were taken out in Alaska, at nearly a quarter of all loans originated, followed by Hawaii and Wyoming.