Just how good of a year has it been for the mortgage business? A record-breaking one, it appears.
The latest projections show that 2019 will likely best year for mortgage originations since 2016, but one of the biggest lenders in the country has already surpassed its lending total from 2016…and every other year in its history.
Quicken Loans announced Thursday that it has already broken the record for the best lending year in the company’s history, besting the company’s previous lending record set in 2016, with three full months left to go.
Quicken Loans revealed Thursday that it closed $40 billion in mortgages in the third quarter, the highest quarterly volume in the company’s 34-year history.
This comes three months after the company previously posted its best quarter ever when it originated $32 billion in mortgages in the second quarter.
In total, the company’s first three quarters of 2019 surpassed its full-year lending total of 2018 of $83 billion, and its record for full-year mortgage volume, $96 billion, achieved in 2016.
And it doesn’t look like things are going to slow down anytime soon. According to Quicken Loans, it set an all-time monthly record in September with $15 billion of closed loan volume, which the company believes will likely be surpassed in the coming months.
“The first nine months of the year have been nothing less than inspiring – not only in terms of how much our company has grown, but because of the incredible number of clients we have helped achieve the American Dream of homeownership,” said Jay Farner, CEO of Quicken Loans.
“The fact that we can provide homebuyers a simple, tech-driven mortgage experience that gives them transparency into the mortgage process drives our success,” Farner continued. “I am so grateful for our team members who continue to deliver the best service possible to our clients while also continuing to innovate and revolutionize the way Americans get a mortgage.”
Quicken Loans isn’t the only lender seeing big volume this year. Earlier this month, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup all reported that their mortgage originations rose during the third quarter.
It’s easy to see why. Mortgage rates are still sitting comfortably below 4% and are still more than a full percentage point lower than they were last year at this time.
That’s leading to a significant rise in refinances and an overall increase in mortgage volume.
And with seemingly no slowdown looming on the horizon, lenders are staffing back up to deal with the increase in volume. It was recently reported that Wells Fargo is “boosting its teams that process mortgage loans to prepare for higher mortgage volumes.”
Quicken Loans is also planning a hiring spree to deal with its record-breaking lending volume.
According to the company, it is looking to fill 1,800 open positions, with roles ranging from entry-level to “highly-specialized,” including mortgage bankers, Quicken Loans Mortgage Services account executives, underwriters, software engineers, data scientists, paid interns and more.
