Top Mortgage Lenders in California

Thanks to new data, it’s time to take a fresh look at the top mortgage lenders in California in 2022.

The Golden State is by far the biggest market for home loans, accounting for something like 16% of the overall market.

Nowhere else even comes close, including heavyweights like Florida and Texas, with about 8% market share. Or New York with about 5%.

As you might expect, the big household names make this list, and many are also on the top-10 list nationwide.

Let’s take a look at who topped the rankings, and break it down by home purchase financing and mortgage refinancing.

Top 10 Mortgage Lenders in California (Overall)

In 2021, Rocket Mortgage, formerly known as Quicken Loans, was the top mortgage lender in California, according to HMDA data from Richey May.

But in 2022, United Wholesale Mortgage (or UWM for short) took the top spot with $34.9 billion funded.

That isn’t a huge surprise as they have also been the top mortgage lender nationally for a couple quarters now as well.

The Pontiac, Michigan-based company managed to grab a 6.5% market share in CA, despite solely working with mortgage broker partners.

They handily beat out their crosstown rivals Rocket Mortgage by about $10 billion, which dropped to the fifth spot.

In second was San Francisco-based Wells Fargo with $30.4 billion, followed by now-defunct First Republic Bank with $27 billion.

That’s also pretty impressive given the fact that UWM only works with mortgage brokers, as opposed to operating a consumer direct channel.

Coming in fourth was Chase, which incidentally acquired First Republic Bank. Talk about consolidation at the top!

They’ve been a big mortgage player for years since acquiring Washington Mutual about the housing crisis back in 2008.

Also in the top 10 were Bank of America, U.S. Bank, loanDepot, Citi, and Union Bank.

For the record, Union Bank was acquired by U.S. Bank, so even more consolidation!

Speaking of banks, seven of the 10 biggest mortgage lenders in California were depository banks, with the remainder nonbanks.

Altogether, more than $500 billion in home loans were originated in the state last year, down from around $1 trillion the year prior.

So about 40% of mortgage volume in California came from these ten companies.

Top California Mortgage Lenders (for Home Purchases)

Now let’s look at the top purchase mortgage lenders in the Golden State, which grabbed about 60% of the market in 2022 as refis waned.

This list is a little bit different because some lenders specialize in home purchase financing, while others cater to existing homeowners looking to refinance.

Topping this list was UWM with $22.4 billion, their second year holding this honor. They once again beat out Wells Fargo with $19.1 billion, while First Republic climbed to third with $15.5 billion.

First Republic ramped up their mortgage lending quite a bit in 2022, and that may have been what ultimately ended them.

Chase took the fourth spot with $12.8 billion, while Rocket Mortgage snagged fifth with $10.9 billion.

Also in the top 10 were Bank of America, U.S. Bank, Citi, loanDepot, and Guaranteed Rate.

The only lender in this list that wasn’t in the main list was Guaranteed Rate, replacing Union Bank.

Going forward, lenders will want to focus on this part of the market if mortgage rates remain inflated relative to recent lows.

Simply put, it’s difficult to drum up refinance business when many homeowners have fixed rates in the 2-4% range and the going rate is 6-7%.

Top California Mortgage Lenders (for Refinance Loans)

Now let’s talk refis, which were all the rage in 2021, but have since fallen out of favor due to unprecedented increases in mortgage rates.

In this category, Rocket Mortgage ran away from the competition with an eye-watering $78.3 billion in loan origination volume in 2021.

But a year later, the picture was a lot different. They funded just $12.7 billion in refis, which still made them #1.

However, their crosstown rival UWM came in a very close second with $12.5 billion in refi loan volume.

Depository banks Chase and Wells Fargo snagged third and fourth with $11.3 billion and $10.3 billion, while First Republic Bank jumped up to fifth with $9.5 billion.

Again, that may be why they no longer exist – too many ultra-cheap mortgages handed out to wealthy clients.

Bank of America, U.S. Bank, loanDepot, Union Bank, and Homepoint took spots six through 10, which was quite different than a year earlier when names like Nationstar (Mr. Cooper) and Freedom Mortgage appeared.

Citibank was nowhere close when it came to refis, despite being a top home purchase lender in California. They did just $2.4 billion in refinances.

Top Mortgage Lenders in Los Angeles

Top Mortgage Lenders in San Diego

Top Mortgage Lenders in San Jose

Top Mortgage Lenders in San Francisco

Does Size Matter When It Comes to Getting a Mortgage?

As I always ponder with these top lender lists, does size actually matter?

Does it mean anything that your bank or lender is massive and bigger than others?

While that might be up for debate, as some could argue that a big institution might be more reliable or efficient or even cheaper, the opposite could also be said.

Ultimately, it’s nice to know who the big players are, but your personality might be better suited to a local credit union or mom-and-pop mortgage broker.

The mortgage lender you choose doesn’t have to be the biggest out there to provide exceptional service and competitive pricing.

Conversely, you might find a household name that does offer all those things mentioned above.

At the end of the day, obtaining a home loan is a big deal and it should be shopped accordingly.

That means lots of research and multiple quotes before you make your final decision.