Today we’ll take a look at the top mortgage lenders in Colorado.
Interestingly, the top lender in the state isn’t a direct lender or a depository bank.
In fact, aspiring home buyers and existing homeowners can’t even work with this company directly.
Instead, they’ll need to work with an intermediary to access the loan programs offered by this behemoth of a mortgage company.
This company was also the top mortgage lender in the state of Arizona, giving them a strong foothold in the Mountain West region of the United States.
Top Mortgage Lenders in Colorado (Overall)
| Ranking | Company Name | 2021 Loan Volume |
| 1. | UWM | $11.7 billion |
| 2. | Rocket Mortgage | $9.5 billion |
| 3. | Chase | $8.5 billion |
| 4. | Wells Fargo | $4.6 billion |
| 5. | U.S. Bank | $4.6 billion |
| 6. | Homepoint | $4.5 billion |
| 7. | Fairway Independent | $4.2 billion |
| 8. | American Financing | $4.1 billion |
| 9. | Pennymac | $4.0 billion |
| 10. | loanDepot | $3.9 billion |
As alluded to, the top Colorado mortgage lender last year was actually a wholesale lender that works with mortgage brokers.
This runs counter to the more traditional retail lending channel offered by big banks and household lenders like Rocket Mortgage.
Yet somehow United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) managed to beat the competition quite easily with $11.7 billion in loan origination volume, per HMDA data from Richey May.
That was more than enough to take out national #1 overall Rocket Mortgage’s $9.5 billion, and JPMorgan Chase’s $8.5 billion.
In order to work with UWM, you’d need to enlist a mortgage broker that is approved to do business with UWM.
Seeing that UWM is the largest wholesale mortgage lender in the nation, most mortgage brokers are.
Another advantage to using a mortgage broker is that they will likely be approved with several companies, so it may turn out that they have a better option beyond UWM.
For the record, Rocket Mortgage also operates a wholesale unit so a broker could be working with both simultaneously and send your loan to the one offering the best price.
Moving on, a pair of depository banks took fourth and fifth, Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank, both with roughly $4.6 billion each.
The rest of the top 10 featured a slew of nonbank lenders, including Homepoint, Fairway Independent Mortgage, American Financing Corp., Pennymac, and loanDepot.
American Financing Corp. is the only Colorado-based mortgage lender on the list, headquartered in Aurora, just east of Denver.
Top Mortgage Lenders in Colorado (for Home Buyers)
| Ranking | Company Name | 2021 Loan Volume |
| 1. | UWM | $4.7 billion |
| 2. | Chase | $3.9 billion |
| 3. | Fairway Independent | $2.7 billion |
| 4. | FirstBank | $2.1 billion |
| 5. | U.S. Bank | $2.1 billion |
| 6. | Cherry Creek Mortgage | $1.9 billion |
| 7. | Rocket Mortgage | $1.7 billion |
| 8. | Wells Fargo | $1.6 billion |
| 9. | loanDepot | $1.5 billion |
| 10. | Guaranteed Rate | $1.4 billion |
If you’re thinking about buying a home, you might be curious who the top lenders are for home purchase loans.
Some mortgage lenders specialize in both purchase loans and refinances, while others focus on just one.
When we narrow it down to just purchase transactions, UWM still retained the lead with $4.7 billion funded.
That was enough to keep Chase’s $3.9 billion at bay, and more than enough to conquer Fairway Independent Mortgage’s $2.7 billion.
Coming in fourth was Colorado’s own FirstBank with $2.1 billion, which has over 100 locations in The Centennial State.
U.S. Bank snagged fifth with roughly the same amount funded during the year.
Local mortgage banker Cherry Creek Mortgage took sixth with $1.9 billion, followed by Rocket Mortgage, Wells Fargo, loanDepot, and Guaranteed Rate.
Always good to see some local names on these lists – and it makes more sense to be in this category as home buyers tend to gravitate to more native companies for big life decisions.
Top Refinance Lenders in Colorado (for Existing Homeowners)
| Ranking | Company Name | 2021 Loan Volume |
| 1. | Rocket Mortgage | $7.7 billion |
| 2. | UWM | $7.0 billion |
| 3. | Chase | $4.5 billion |
| 4. | American Financing | $3.7 billion |
| 5. | Freedom Mortgage | $3.3 billion |
| 6. | Homepoint | $3.3 billion |
| 7. | Wells Fargo | $2.9 billion |
| 8. | Pennymac | $2.7 billion |
| 9. | loanDepot | $2.5 billion |
| 10. | Newrez | $2.4 billion |
When it came to mortgage refinancing, Detroit-based Rocket Mortgage ruled the roost with $7.7 billion funded last year in the state.
However, their crosstown rival UWM (also from Michigan) wasn’t far off with $7.0 billion funded.
If Rocket served more home buyers in Colorado, they could have challenged the top spot overall.
Coming in third was Chase with $4.5 billion, followed by local mortgage banker American Financing Corp. with $3.7 billion.
And rounding out the top five was Freedom Mortgage with $3.3 billion. They tend to excel when it comes to refinance loans.
Others in the top 10 refinance list included Homepoint, Wells Fargo, Pennymac, loanDepot, and Newrez.
Are Colorado’s Top Mortgage Lenders Also the Best Choice for Homeowners?
While size can matter when it comes to choosing a mortgage lender, it isn’t always a major consideration.
As noted, the top mortgage lender in Colorado isn’t even a retail company. They operate solely via the business-to-business, wholesale lending channel.
This means working with a smaller mortgage brokerage if you get a loan from UWM, which could be a single individual running their own shop.
Additionally, only one Colorado-based lender made the top-10 list, American Financing Corp.
So if you want a local lender, they might not even feature in these lists. And that’s totally fine, as long as they’re financially sound and above board.
Sure, you might find that the largest lender is also the one you like best, but they don’t necessarily need to be big to get the job done.
As always, take your time, do your research, obtain multiple quotes, and ask lots of questions before you proceed.
