Let’s cut through the noise: The mortgage market isn’t changing; it’s already changed. Volatility is the norm, margins are squeezed within an inch of viability and borrowers expect a frictionless experience every time. If your entire business still revolves around purchase and refinance, you’re not just playing catch-up, you’re being left behind.
Bidding wars for producing mortgage loan officers are back with a vengeance — and it’s largely in the hopes of capitalizing on an upcoming refinance wave, recruiters and executives tell HousingWire.
Home Equity Investment (HEI) is a relatively new option for private equity real estate investors, and one that carries significant promise. Essentially, is a secured contract where a homeowner receives cash today for a share of the home’s future value at a refinancing or sale event. Unlike a loan, there are no monthly payments or interest. HEIs are attractive to homeowners because the payment comes in an interest-free lump sum, rather than being spread out over a period of time and including interest, and because they don’t carry the same stringent requirements as traditional home equity loans.
The mortgage market might still be sluggish, but for originators willing to look beyond the traditional, there’s real momentum building in the non-QM space. Tom Davis, Chief Sales Officer at Deephaven, is helping lead that charge — working with sales teams across the country to grow not just volume, but trust. In this conversation, Davis breaks down the surge in demand for second liens, DSCR loans, and alternative income documentation — and why originators who lean in now are setting themselves up for long-term success.
Blend Labs, Inc. reported its Q1 2025 earnings Thursday, touting a turnaround as its financial losses narrowed, deal pipeline strengthened and it landed major clients while sharpening its focus to become “software-first.”
The expense associated with originating mortgage loans has been escalating, with the current average cost approximating $11,600 per loan. A substantial component of this expense is attributed to Loan Officer Compensation (LO Comp), which typically constitutes 1% to 2% of the loan amount and represents nearly half of the total origination cost. This heightened compensation framework is primarily propelled by the considerable cost of lead acquisition, further aggravated by the lower conversion rate of leads.
Lower rates helped Detroit-based Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, improve its originations in the first quarter of the year — a period also marked by the announcement of two major acquisitions in Redfin and Mr. Cooper.
Today’s best loan officers operate differently and expect more.
Mortgage lenders and prospective borrowers looking for relief from high interest rates will need to wait longer. In a widely expected decision on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve kept rates steady at a range of 4.25% to 4.5% following its two-day meeting.
In 2025, despite a lot of negative economic headlines, mortgage purchase application data has shown positive year-over-year growth for 14 consecutive weeks. In today’s MBA purchase application survey, this data reflected an 11% increase week over week and a 13% increase year over year, indicating resilient market performance.
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