If you’re in the market for a new home, you’ve likely noticed that mortgage rates aren’t what they used to be. After years of 2-3% mortgages, we’re in a 7% world, and that’s keeping many aspiring buyers on the sidelines. But what if you could take over a seller’s existing low-interest mortgage instead of locking into today’s higher rates? That’s where assumable mortgages come in.
What is an Assumable Mortgage?
An assumable mortgage allows a homebuyer to take over the seller’s existing loan, including its interest rate and remaining balance. This can be a game changer if the seller locked in a much lower rate than what’s currently available. It’s the equivalent of getting in a time machine and going back to 2021.
How Is It Different from a Traditional Mortgage?
With a traditional mortgage, the buyer secures a new loan at current market rates—which, in today’s climate, are often more than double the 2-3% rates that many assumable mortgages carry.
With an assumable mortgage, the buyer takes over the seller’s existing loan and interest rate. For buyers, assumable mortgages mean lower monthly payments, less interest paid over time, sometimes to the tune of $100,000+ over the life of the loan, and increased affordability in a high-rate environment.
The Best Cities to Find Homes with Assumable Mortgages
So, where are the best places to find homes with assumable mortgages? Below is a ranking of U.S. metro areas with the highest number of homes with assumable mortgages:
Top U.S. Metro Areas for Assumable Mortgages & Potential Community Savings
(Ranked by number of homes with assumable mortgages in April 2025)
|
Metro Area |
Total # of Assumable Mortgages in the Market |
Estimated 30-Year Savings |
|
Chicago, IL |
253,927 |
$66,820,000,000 |
|
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX |
252,526 |
$66,410,000,000 |
|
Atlanta, GA |
251,300 |
$66,090,000,000 |
|
Houston, TX |
242,105 |
$63,660,000,000 |
|
Washington, DC |
226,483 |
$59,570,000,000 |
|
New York City, NY |
197,364 |
$51,950,000,000 |
|
Philadelphia, PA |
181,179 |
$47,660,000,000 |
|
Phoenix, AZ |
175,102 |
$45,980,000,000 |
|
Riverside, CA |
166,851 |
$43,880,000,000 |
|
San Antonio, TX |
149,287 |
$39,260,000,000 |
|
Miami, FL |
146,589 |
$38,570,000,000 |
|
Tampa, FL |
133,762 |
$35,190,000,000 |
|
Virginia Beach, VA |
130,799 |
$34,400,000,000 |
|
Baltimore, MD |
124,240 |
$32,680,000,000 |
|
Los Angeles, CA |
109,853 |
$28,890,000,000 |
|
Detroit, MI |
109,067 |
$28,670,000,000 |
|
Orlando, FL |
108,165 |
$28,490,000,000 |
|
St. Louis, MO |
106,258 |
$27,950,000,000 |
|
Las Vegas, NV |
103,976 |
$27,340,000,000 |
|
Denver, CO |
93,090 |
$24,460,000,000 |
|
Jacksonville, FL |
90,557 |
$23,800,000,000 |
|
Seattle, WA |
83,832 |
$22,050,000,000 |
|
Charlotte, NC |
82,010 |
$21,570,000,000 |
|
Indianapolis, IN |
79,573 |
$20,930,000,000 |
How These Savings Were Calculated
- Difference in Interest Rates: 7% (new mortgage) vs. 3% (assumable).
- Per-Loan Lifetime Savings: For a $300,000 30-year mortgage, moving from 7% to 3% saves roughly $731 per month, totaling about $263,000 over 30 years.
- Aggregate Savings: Multiply the per-loan savings ($263,196) by the number of assumable mortgages in each metro area.
As home affordability becomes more challenging, assumable mortgages offer a major opportunity for buyers to secure lower interest rates. If you’re looking for the best places to find these opportunities, Texas, Florida, and California dominate the list. Lucky for many home buyers right now, this list aligns with the cities where people are actively looking to move. For sellers, this also presents a unique opportunity to market the home’s assumable mortgage as a major selling point to prospective buyers. If two nearly identical homes are for sale next to each other, buyers are going to gravitate towards the one that has half the monthly payment as their neighbor, every time.