In the May issue of Origination News, we published our third annual Top 150 loan originator list. Starting today and over following Mondays, we will be featuring the top five producers for 2011.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who submitted information (and we had a record number of participants) as well as to the people in our data-gathering unit who help compile and organize it.
For continuity purposes from the two publications in which this list is historically derived, the list is open to all mortgage originators, no matter which type of loans they originate and the entity that they work for. Those at the top of the list had their data confirmed via phone call.
Besides being sorted by dollar volume, the print edition also has a table showing the top 30 originators sorted by units.
MortgageStats.com estimated last year’s residential lending market to be at under $1.4 trillion, down from nearly $1.7 trillion the year before. And it estimates the market for this year to continue to decline to $1.2 trillion.
Yet in talking with the top five producers on our list, several are seeing very strong business coming into their shops right now as some markets (especially California) are reporting tighter housing inventories. And rates continue to defy expectations, remaining at near-record low levels.
Another item some economists feel will be a positive for originators is HARP 2.0 refinancings. Toward that end, a number of lead generation firms are offering products targeted at this market.
