Loan brokers—those third-party sales professionals sometimes blamed for the mortgage mess—originated 11.3% of all residential loans in the second quarter, their best showing in almost two years, according to new survey figures from National Mortgage News and the
The sector reached a nadir in the second quarter of last year with a market share of just 6.7%.
Their revival also comes at a time of increasing loan volumes—thanks to ultra-low interest rates. All residential funders produced $435 billion of mortgages in 2Q, a slightly better performance than 1Q.
NMN/QDR initially reported that fundings totaled $425 billion but updated the figure by $10 billion this week. It appears that midsized and smaller players in the market are racking up nice volumes and may be falling under the radar screen of some organizations tracking production.
In 1Q all lenders funded $427 billion. The third quarter is shaping up to be on par with the other two.
As for loan brokers, the sector is beginning to feel more secure about its future.
Andy Harris of Vantage Mortgage Group out of Oregon said there are hurdles to in the sector but said in a recent email to NMN: “Why would anyone that is educated right now originating as a broker change to correspondent lenders if they were in their right mind?”
NMN/QDR found that in 2Q brokers and correspondent both gained share while retail lenders loss share.
