If you reside in the Pacific Northwest, you might wonder who the top mortgage lenders in Washington State are.
Yes, I’m referring to the state of Washington, not the nation’s capital, the District of Columbia.
Last year, the Evergreen State accounted for about 4% of all home loans, per HMDA data for 2021.
This made it one of the more active of the 50 states, only bettered by the likes of California, Florida, Texas.
As to which company did the most home loan lending in the state, it was none other than nonbank Caliber Home Loans.
Top Mortgage Lenders in Washington State (Overall)
| Ranking | Company Name | 2021 Loan Volume |
| 1. | Caliber Home Loans | $12.2 billion |
| 2. | Rocket Mortgage | $11.8 billion |
| 3. | Wells Fargo | $8.3 billion |
| 4. | Chase | $8.0 billion |
| 5. | Fairway Independent | $7.1 billion |
| 6. | loanDepot | $6.8 billion |
| 7. | UWM | $6.3 billion |
| 8. | BECU | $5.2 billion |
| 9. | Guild Mortgage | $4.9 billion |
| 10. | KeyBank | $4.9 billion |
Caliber Home Loans seems like an unlikely candidate, but still managed to beat out of the rest of competition, even Rocket Mortgage.
The Texas-based mortgage lender funded $12.2 billion in the state of Washington last year, according to HMDA data from Richey May.
This was enough to take out the nation’s number one mortgage lender, Rocket Mortgage, which managed only $11.8 billion.
Coming in third place was San Francisco-based depository Wells Fargo with $8.3 billion in home loan volume.
JP Morgan Chase came in fourth with $8.0, while nonbank Fairway Independent Mortgage grabbed the fifth spot with $7.1 billion.
Others that landed in the top-10 included loanDepot, United Wholesale Mortgage, Boeing Employees Credit Union, Guild Mortgage, and KeyBank.
So just one of the top 10 lenders in Washington is actually based in the state, none other than Boeing Employees Credit Union, or BECU for short.
Bellevue-based Evergreen Home Loans managed to land in the top-20, while Umpqua Bank nearly cracked the top-10 list.
Top Mortgage Lenders in Washington State (for Home Purchases)
| Ranking | Company Name | 2021 Loan Volume |
| 1. | Caliber Home Loans | $6.1 billion |
| 2. | Fairway Independent | $4.0 billion |
| 3. | Wells Fargo | $3.9 billion |
| 4. | Chase | $3.3 billion |
| 5. | KeyBank | $2.5 billion |
| 6. | Guild Mortgage | $2.2 billion |
| 7. | UWM | $2.2 billion |
| 8. | Rocket Mortgage | $2.0 billion |
| 9. | U.S. Bank | $1.9 billion |
| 10. | Homebridge | $1.9 billion |
Now let’s fine-tune the list to only consider home purchase loans, as opposed to both purchase loans and refinances.
This list focuses on mortgages for home buyers instead of existing homeowners. As such, it looks quite a bit different.
Caliber Home Loans still led the way with a strong $6.1 billion in loan origination volume, but Rocket Mortgage fell to 8th place.
In second was Fairway Independent Mortgage with $4.0 billion in home purchase loans, followed by Wells Fargo with $3.9 billion.
Chase and KeyBank took the fourth and fifth spots with $3.3 billion and $2.5 billion, respectively.
The rest of best included Guild Mortgage, UWM, U.S. Bank, Homebridge Financial Services.
Top Refinance Lenders in Washington State (for existing homeowners)
| Ranking | Company Name | 2021 Loan Volume |
| 1. | Rocket Mortgage | $9.7 billion |
| 2. | Caliber Home Loans | $6.1 billion |
| 3. | loanDepot | $5.1 billion |
| 4. | Chase | $4.6 billion |
| 5. | Wells Fargo | $4.2 billion |
| 6. | UWM | $4.1 billion |
| 7. | BECU | $3.5 billion |
| 8. | Pennymac | $3.4 billion |
| 9. | Freedom Mortgage | $3.4 billion |
| 10. | Fairway Independent | $3.1 billion |
We discussed who the top home purchase lenders were, now let’s look at the refinance leaders.
These companies had a strong focus on existing homeowners, helping them snag a lower interest rate via a rate and term refinance.
Or pull equity out of their properties via a cash out refinance.
This is where Rocket Mortgage tends to shine, taking the top spot easily with $9.7 billion in refinance volume in the state.
Caliber Home Loans trailed the company by a wide margin with $6.1 billion in refis, followed by loanDepot with $5.1 billion.
Chase and Wells Fargo once again made the list, in the fourth and fifth positions with $4.6 and $4.2 billion, respectively.
The bottom half of the top-10 included UWM, BECU, Pennymac, Freedom Mortgage, and Fairway Independent Mortgage.
No big surprises here as the list consisted of many of the same names from above.
The only newcomer other than Freedom was Pennymac, which is typically acts a correspondent lender as opposed to a retail, consumer-facing one.
Should You Use One of the Largest Mortgage Lenders in Washington State?
The answer to this question will depend on your personality type. Are you only comfortable working with a big, household name?
Or do you prefer the more boutique-feel of a local credit union or mortgage broker?
It also may depend whether your transaction is a home purchase or a mortgage refinance.
Either way, put in the time to do your due diligence and investigate the company you plan to work with.
Ensure they offer quality service, are competent (can actually fund your loan), and have competitive pricing when it comes to closing costs and mortgage rates.
And even if you’re set on one lender, take the time to gather one or two more quotes to see how they stack up.
The mortgage will likely stay with you for some time, so getting the pricing piece right should be paramount.
(photo: Eric Frommer)
