HousingWire Mortgage Rankings: Which lenders are dominating the market?

Shant Banosian doesn’t believe that retail mortgage lenders are at a cost disadvantage when pitted head-to-head against wholesale competitors.

Banosian, the Massachusetts-based originator and president of Chicago-based Rate, pointed to data showing that independent mortgage banks (IMBs) and their retail-heavy presence are responsible for 84% of single-family mortgages in the U.S.

Although wholesale lenders do not carry the overhead costs of the retail branch model, individual brokers do. And retail lenders, he said, compete against the collective wholesale market despite the continued dominance in that arena by United Wholesale Mortgage and Rocket Mortgage.

Banosian also pointed to his company’s large technology investments, which he says have resulted in lower costs and additional savings for borrowers through competitive rates and lower fees. He labels Rate’s model as “relationship-driven,” with the core of the business centered on partnerships rather than consumer-direct outreach.

“There’s nothing more powerful in the entire mortgage industry than those relationships with our consumers, with our partners, like real estate agents and financial advisers,” Banosian said.

It’s these factors that led Rate to place 424 of its loan officers on the inaugural HousingWire Mortgage Rankings, which measured 2025 production and included LOs who did at least 60 loans or $20 million in volume.

Rate’s 424 LOs on the list accounted for $20.64 billion in volume, or nearly $49 million per producer, according to HousingWire’s AI-driven internal data analysis. And Banosian was the country’s second-ranked producer with $638.6 million across 901 loans.

Dissecting the numbers

HousingWire’s analysis found that Rocket Mortgage led the way by a wide margin with 1,729 Top Originators by Loan Amount. Second place went to CrossCountry Mortgage at 743, with JP Mortgage Chase and Mortgage Research Center (dba Veterans United Home Loans) next at 595 and 555, respectively.

Measured by aggregate volume, the top producers at Rocket originated $64.12 billion in 2025, followed by CrossCountry ($35.61 billion), Chase ($29.36 billion), DHI Mortgage ($25.68 billion) and Veterans United ($23.29 billion).

Heather Lovier, chief operating officer of Rocket Companies, told HousingWire that Rocket’s success in 2025 is attributed to a multifaceted approach — including its mission to help everyone buy a home, brand positioning and strategic investments in AI to enhance efficiency.

“The last five years, more intensely the last three years, being so heavily focused on AI and creating efficiencies for our mortgage bankers … has been a strategic priority, and it’s really starting to pay off, which we saw in 2025,” Lovier said. 

Lovier also said that Rocket’s acquisitions of Mr. Cooper Group and Redfin put more products on the table that were not previously available. Specifically, the acquisition of Redfin’s mortgage arm, Bay Equity, has been a key driver. 

“Purchase is absolutely a main focus for us to continue to drive market share in that facet. And because of our acquisitions, we’ve been able to expand into the market,” she said. “For example, Rocket Local, which has our loan officers out in the market, we have more than doubled the folks there with the Bay Equity acquisition. So we have over 500 folks out in the local markets, helping clients and agents as we continue to expand our reach.”

As for specific products to boost growth for the Detroit-based fintech, Lovier said that the company’s closed-end second-lien product has been a “game changer,” with most of the loans closing in as little as 10 days.

Keeping up the momentum

After taking on the role of company president last year, Banosian said he has focused on teaching LOs to be “rainmakers” and the “CEOs of their business.” Their winning formula, he explained, is platform + people + playbook, with lead generation, scaling and relationship management at the forefront of strategy.

Along with that three-pillar formula, Banosian said it’s crucial to understand that structuring specific deals is an art form, so the LOs who are experts on product guidelines and can explain the benefits to clients will win more business.

“I win deals because I am a professional loan officer. … I’ll win a deal where a competitor could offer the same product — the loan officer just doesn’t know about it or doesn’t know how to articulate it,” he said.

Lovier, meanwhile, expects to see continued heavy investments in AI and in the company’s wholesale arm, Rocket Pro. While the end goal is efficiency and “meeting clients where they are,” the rollout of any offerings is intentional. 

“I think the way that we think about it is, we don’t try to roll out new products or new offerings every single week. We try to limit it to either monthly or quarterly, because you also want to give time for folks to adjust and adapt,” she said.