Imbs Originate 84% Of Residential Mortgages In 2025

The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) on Thursday released its 2025 report on independent mortgage banks (IMBs), highlighting these companies as the “dominant” force in mortgage lending as they originated 84.1% of all U.S. single-family mortgages last year.

CHLA cited data from the Urban Institute, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Ginnie Mae in its report. The IMB share of FHA loans increased from 57% in 2010 to 90% in 2025. Per FHA data, 74% of FHA loans are for home purchases and 83% of these are to first-time homebuyers.

“Each year, CHLA publishes its IMB Report to educate the public, the press, Congress and Federal officials about IMBs,” CHLA President Taylor Stork said in the report. “To those in Washington who make public policy, we urge you to take the time to read this report, factoring it into the decisions you make.”

The IMB share of Ginnie Mae issuance soared from 12% in 2010 to 94.6% in 2025, and IMBs ultimately replaced banks as the dominant Ginnie Mae issuers during the period. The IMB share of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) originations was 95.5% as of November 2024, per Ginnie Mae’s Global Markets Analysis Report published in December.

The CHLA report also highlighted the struggles characterizing the mortgage industry, specifically the soaring age of a first-time homebuyer, an ongoing affordability crisis and high home prices.

The CHLA’s executive summary pointed to 30-year mortgage rates that have fallen from a peak of 7% a year ago to about 6%, easing costs for homebuyers and allowing some borrowers to refinance.

IMBs are nonbank firms that underwrite, originate, close and service mortgages. They’re entering a fourth year of consolidation after refinancing activity dropped due to mortgage rates that doubled after the end of the post-pandemic housing boom, the executive summary noted.

The summary also noted key developments in 2025, notably the focus on housing policy in Washington, D.C. CHLA said lawmakers are considering the Senate’s ROAD to Housing Act and the House’s Housing for the 21st Century Act, while the White House announced new housing initiatives at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Agencies — including the FHA, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) — have taken steps to streamline regulations, and the CFPB has reduced staffing levels, shifting more oversight to state regulators, the CHLA noted.

The Trump administration has also signaled plans to end the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. FHFA Director Bill Pulte has emphasized borrower affordability and measures to support housing production.

In 2025, Congress passed legislation to limit trigger leads, reducing the volume of unsolicited calls, texts and emails to consumers after loan applications. Rising credit score pricing remains a concern, with alternatives like VantageScore being explored.

Technology changes, including the growing use of artificial intelligence, are reshaping mortgage origination, and industry groups say federal policy will continue to influence the sector’s ability to serve homebuyers.

The report also explored CHLA’s policy positions and priorities for 2026.

These include plans to advocate for the end of GSE conservatorship; end loan-level price adjustments (LLPAs) for entry-level housing; end life-of-loan premiums for FHA mortgages; and reforms to the 2010 Dodd-Frank loan originator compensation bill, among others.