Who dominated the Michigan mortgage market last year?

May 9, 2023 10:48 AM

Michigan is the hub of the mortgage world, but local industry giants faced stiff competition for homebuyers within their own borders from out-of-state players.

Companies whose headquarters dot the Motor City and surrounding neighborhoods still captured the most in-state originations in 2022, including giants Rocket Mortgage and United Wholesale Mortgage. However, a local credit union outpaced many major firms in working with homeowners across the state, while volume among the smallest originators grew year-over-year.

National Mortgage News ranked the top-10 mortgage lenders in Michigan in 2022, from an analysis of S&P Global data, which itself is gathered from the firm's analysis of millions of property deeds each month. The list includes totals for originations in 2022 through December, and excludes multifamily loans, which S&P categorizes under commercial loans.

Mortgage lenders combined originated $54.5 billion in volume last year in Michigan across 279,597 mortgages, according to S&P. The average mortgage amount across the state was $195,106, while business was down 41% from the year prior.

Rocket Companies Inc. signage is displayed on The Chase Towers building, home to Quicken Loans, in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., on Thursday Aug. 6, 2020. Photographer: Emily Elconin/Bloomberg

Emily Elconin/Bloomberg

Rocket Mortgage

Total volume in Michigan in 2022: $4,411,939,597
Year-over-Year growth: -60.41%
Average mortgage amount: $206,716
Mortgage count: 21,343
Market share: 8.09%

The industry leader, which has called downtown Detroit home since 2010, dominated its home state last year. Rocket's annual origination volume nationwide fell 62.1% while in-state business fell at a slower rate.

Lake Michigan Credit Union

Lake Michigan Credit Union
Total volume in Michigan in 2022: $3,489,032,717
YoY Growth: -21.77%
Average Mortgage Amount: $255,364
Mortgage Count: 13,663
Market share: 6.40%

The Grand Rapids, Michigan lender is approaching its 90th birthday and claims to be one of the largest credit unions in the country. The firm counts assets exceeding $10 billion and a mortgage servicing portfolio of over $14.3 billion.

United Wholesale Mortgage

Total volume in Michigan in 2022: $2,588,564,328
YoY Growth: -47.24%
Average mortgage amount: $239,040
Mortgage Count: 10,829
Market share: 4.75%

The Pontiac, Michigan-based king of wholesale was well behind its local rival in cornering the Michigan market, although it remained just one of four lenders last year to break 10,000 total in-state loans. The 47% decline in Great Lake State originations came despite UWM last year surpassing its total nationwide purchase volume in 2021.

Huntington Bank

Total volume in Michigan in 2022: $2,255,007,906
YoY Growth: -25.16%
Average mortgage amount: $197,064
Mortgage count: 11,443
Market share: 4.13%

The Columbus, Ohio-based firm has a wide footprint in Michigan and was the leading depository mortgage lender in the state last year. In total, Huntington reported $5.4 billion and $4.4 billion in residential mortgage and home equity volume in 2022, respectively.

Fifth Third Bank

Total volume in Michigan in 2022: $1,284,264,594
YoY growth: -34.90%
Average mortgage amount: $157,328
Mortgage count: 8,163
Market share: 2.35%

The bank's nationwide origination volume fell 26% in 2022 to $14 billion from $19 billion the year prior. The Cincinnati, Ohio-based depository however has shown a commitment to mortgages despite the market's downswing, launching a warehouse business last September.

Other non-bank lenders

Total volume in Michigan in 2022: $1,173,938,196
YoY growth: 2.95%
Average mortgage amount: $243,102
Mortgage count: 4,829
Market share: 2.15%

Each company in the non-bank lender category originated 3 or fewer mortgages in Michigan last year, according to S&P Global. The list of the unspecified lenders includes over 1,000 banks, credit unions, independent mortgage banks and other financial firms, including some major lenders which did little business in the state.

JPMorgan Chase

Total volume in Michigan in 2022: $1,047,078,618
YoY growth: -57.15%
Average mortgage amount: $246,720
Mortgage count: 4,244
Market share: 1.92%

The megabank had the second largest in-state drop-off in annual originations behind Rocket, but still loaned to borrowers one of the highest average mortgage amounts among the Michigan leaders. It cut hundreds of employees in mortgage lending this February, although it didn't indicate any loan officer layoffs in Michigan.

Flagstar Bank

Total volume in Michigan in 2022: $1,045,132,044
YoY growth: -42.23%
Average mortgage amount: $189,301
Mortgage count: 5,521
Market share: 1.92%

The company, based 30 minutes north of Detroit in Troy, saw major changes to its mortgage business in January following its acquisition by New York Community Bancorp. Still, the in-state lender is a top-10 depository home loan lender across the country and the second-largest warehouse lender nationwide, its parent company claims.

Mortgage 1, Inc.

Total volume in Michigan in 2022: $815,583,323
YoY growth: -42.73$
Average mortgage amount: $202,328
Mortgage count: 4,031
Market share: 1.50%

The private firm, located in Detroit suburb Sterling Heights, held its own against massive bank and non-bank players in the Michigan market last year. The direct retail lender, founded in 1994, counts 140 employees on LinkedIn and also retains offices in Florida, Ohio and Texas.

PNC Bank

Total volume in Michigan in 2022: $747,363,792
YoY growth: -32.93%
Average mortgage amount: $179,655
Mortgage count: 4,160
Market share: 1.37%

The Pittsburgh-based giant saw its Michigan volume fall in line with the decline in originations nationwide, from $24.8 billion in 2021 to $15.1 billion last year, according to its annual earnings report.

Independence Bank

Total volume in Michigan in 2022: $736,158,909
YoY growth: -3.94%
Average mortgage amount: $262,258
Mortgage count: 2,807
Market share: 1.35%

The depository, headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, did the majority of its origination activity in its home state. It reported $935 million in total loan volume last year, a nearly 50% decline from the $1.8 billion it produced in 2021.