Prosperity Home Mortgage acquires consumer direct lender

Prosperity Home Mortgage, a lender under the massive Berkshire Hathaway real estate umbrella, has acquired direct-to-consumer business JFQ Lending, it announced.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, according to the press release Tuesday by Prosperity, a subsidiary of HomeServices of America. JFQ Lending will operate Prosperity's Consumer Direct Division at its call center in Scottsdale, Arizona. 

The Chantilly, Virginia-based Prosperity counted $25 billion in production from over 500 mortgage consultants between 2021 and 2022, it said. The lender funded $8.5 billion in volume between January and October of last year, according to S&P Global data. It offers products including government-insured, adjustable rate, investor and bridge loans.

JFQ was founded in 2017 and counts 162 employees on LinkedIn. The company originated $947 million in volume over the January to October 2022 period, according to S&P Global data.  It was a strong choice for the mortgage banker looking to add the consumer direct business line, said Justin Messer, president and CEO of Prosperity.

"By adding JFQ's technology stack, proven sales process, and seasoned leadership team, Prosperity is well positioned to execute its goal of becoming a significant force in the consumer direct channel with an equal focus on purchase and refinance transactions," he said in a press release Tuesday. 

John Kresevic, CEO of JFQ, will lead Prosperity's new Consumer Direct Division as senior vice president, national sales leader – consumer direct. 

"This transaction validates the vision my partner, Justin Meek, and I had to provide world class service and deliver a best-in-class mortgage experience, and there is no better place to achieve that goal than at Prosperity," he said.

Prosperity parent HomeServices of America claims it is the nation's largest residential real estate brokerage company. It has a nationwide network of brokerages, title firms, insurers and lenders, with mortgage lenders Prosperity and the HomeServices Lending brand.

The company joins the list of lenders in growth mode despite the market's downturn in the past 12 months, as industry players of various sizes make moves in anticipation of a housing market rebound. Mergers and acquisitions among mortgage companies have boomed in recent months, spurred by a hunger for scale or geographic reach. The industry saw 42 transactions last year and could see 60 this year, according to consulting firm STRATMOR Group.