Fla. in Top 5 for Homebuyers with PMI

WASHINGTON – U.S. Mortgage Insurers (USMI) – the association representing the nation’s leading private mortgage insurance (PMI) companies – released its annual report on mortgage financing supported by private PMI at the national and state levels, and Florida ranked second after Texas with almost 3 out of 5 buyers (57%) relying on PMI to buy a home.

PMI helps buyers who do not put 20% down on a home purchase. With PMI, potential homebuyers can put down as little as 3%. According to research from Fannie Mae, PMI ranks among the lowest costs associated with homeownership, with total private MI payments representing 0.5% of lifetime homeownership costs for the average purchase borrower.

In addition, owners can generally cancel PMI payments once they have 20% equity in their home.

Nationwide, the PMI industry helped over 1 million people buy a home in 2022, according to data from, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Texas, Florida, California, Illinois and Ohio ranked as the top five states for mortgage financing with private MI in 2022.

Top 5 states for private mortgage insurance:

1. Texas: 99,925 (62% of borrowers)
2. Florida: 76,451 (57%)
3. California: 67,003 (72%)
4. Illinois: 48,168 (67%)
5. Ohio: 40,515 (62%)

According to the 2022 report, the average Floridian using PMI had a median household income of $59,734, and the median sales price of the homes purchased was $422,100.

Report authors say without PMI, it would take the average Florida homebuyer 45 years to save a 20% down payment of $97,093 and 16 years to save up a 5% down payment ($33,768).

“Access to affordable and sustainable mortgage financing is vital as potential homebuyers contend with higher interest rates, elevated home prices and constrained inventory in many markets,” says Seth Appleton, president of USMI.

Other report findings

• It could take 45 years, on average, for a U.S. household earning the national median income of $70,784 to save 20% (plus closing costs), for a $392,800 single-family home, the national median sales price.
• Nearly 62% of purchase mortgages went to first-time buyers.
• About 35% of PMI users had annual incomes below $75,000.
• The average loan amount purchased or refinanced with PMI was $341,716.
• The PMI industry supported about $402 billion in 2022 mortgage originations – 97% of mortgages were purchase loans, resulting in nearly $1.5 trillion in outstanding mortgages with active PMI coverage at year-end.

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