Nonbanks' Housing Origin Story

Nonbank lenders have a growing share of mortgage originations in the housing market. Fifty-two percent of all originations in the U.S. are from nonbanks, nine percent growth since 2009.

The data comes from industry research group Inside Mortgage Finance, which finds that six of the 10 largest mortgage lenders in America are nonbanks. Realtor.com explains, "They symbolize both the healthy reinvention of a mortgage market brought to its knees a decade ago—and how the growth in that market almost exclusively has been in its less-regulated corner." Industry insiders say that nonbank lenders' structure has changed little since the Great Recession, despite post-crisis regulations. 

One afternoon this spring, a dozen or so employees lined up in front of Freedom Mortgage’s office in Mount Laurel, N.J., to get their picture taken. Clutching helium balloons shaped like dollar signs, they were being honored for the number of mortgages they had sold. Freedom is nowhere near the size of behemoths like Citigroup Inc. or Bank of America Corp.; yet last year it originated more mortgages than either of them, some $51.1 billion, according to Inside Mortgage Finance. It is now the 11th-largest mortgage lender in the U.S., up from No. 78 in 2012

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