Mortgage Market Intel #2 -  Jan  12, 2026

A Deeper Dive into LO Migration Patterns

Last week, we uncovered that LOs change companies at a pretty consistent rate throughout the year. It sparked interesting dialog, and so we decided to dig in deeper. Turns out there are some differences in movements when you break it down by production cohort. Mega producers doing 101+ units a year tended to move in October and May. For most cohorts, the holidays are actually the slowest time for movement except for the mega producers who avoided switching companies in March and April instead. A more detailed breakdown is available in the table below. Last week we also offered training around recruiting features within RETR. Based on popular demand we’ll be offering that live recruiting training again this week.

Market Movers

Last week, 836 originators switched companies and 954 individuals obtained their NMLS license.

Notable originator movements last week include:

Samer Omeish ($123.4M, 430 units) joined Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, Inc. from Lennar Mortgage, LLC
Odai Mabrouk ($105.7M, 359 units) joined Priority 1 Lending, LLC from NATIONS MORTGAGE, LLC
Sean Condon ($103.9M, 102 units) joined BOKF, National Association from U.S. Bank National Association
Steven Grodzinski ($65.5M, 135 units) joined Cornerstone First Mortgage, LLC from The Newfinity Group INC.
Jeffrey Pabustan ($61.1M, 126 units) joined Canopy Mortgage, LLC from Home Loan Express, LLC
Charles Merrick ($55.4M, 125 units) joined Middletown Valley Bank from Millennium Financial Group, Inc.
John Patterson ($55.3M, 221 units) joined West Capital Lending, Inc. from loanDepot.com, LLC
Nicholas Dolen ($52.9M, 105 units) joined Answer Home Lending, Inc. from Answer Home Loans, Inc.
Samuel Royer ($46.8M, 122 units) joined Reliant Mortgage LLC from CAPITAL FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Market Movers (Gainers and Decliners by Producer Volume)

Top Gainers (non-Bank/CU)

1. WestCoast Mortgage Group and Realty Company +25.43%
2. Reliant Mortgage LLC +24.55%
3. Priority 1 Lending, LLC +22.69%
4. AK Mortgage LLC +18.93%
5. Groves Capital, Inc. +12.33%
6. Castle & Cooke Mortgage, LLC +12.3%
7. Real Consultants Mortgage and Real Estate Services Inc. +8%
8. Ethos Lending, Inc. +6.86%
9. Omni-Fund, Inc. +5.11%
10. United Direct Lending LLC +4.41%

Top Decliners by (non-Bank/CU)

1. Malibu Funding, Inc. -111.55%
2. NATIONS MORTGAGE, LLC -31.66%
3. Aspire Mortgage Advisors LLC -12.72%
4. Hometown Financial Group, LLC -12.33%
5. Home Town Funding, Inc. -10.93%
6. Mortgage Solutions FCS Inc. -9.85%
7. Zero Point Mortgage Services -7.99%
8. Answer Home Loans, Inc. -7.05%
9. Better Lending LLC -5.52%
10. Pinnacle Mortgage Corporation -5.03%

Calculations based on last aggregate production of individual LO’s 14 months’ production.

Upcoming RETR Training

• Mon, Jan 12 @ 2p ET - Intro to RETR: The Modern Loan Officer’s Data Advantage Register
  An interactive overview of the RETR tools top loan officers and branch managers use to find agents, strengthen relationships, and uncover new opportunities using data.
• Wed, Jan 14 @ 12p ET – The Recruiting Advantage: How Top Lenders Win Loan Officers with Data, Not Guesswork Register
  Learn how to identify, prioritize, and recruit the right loan officers using real production data, relationship intelligence, and proven insights. This class is for leaders who want to recruit with precision-not volume.
• Thurs, Jan 15 @ 2p ET - Intro to RETR: The Modern Loan Officer’s Data Advantage Register
  An overview of the many tools available to you in RETR – from agent and LO research, to list building and bulk contact exports, and borrower retention and refi finder tools, and more!

Recent RETR Features

• Add Office Location filter to Mortgage | Find Companies page
• Add Office Location filter to Mortgage | Find Branches page
• Added the ability for Branch Managers to view their LOs’ personal refi opportunities
• Coming Soon: API

Is RETR Better for Mortgage Market Intelligence?

When it comes to mortgage market intelligence, you have a handful of options, and RETR is one that truly stands out. Here’s what Nick Framarini, a top producer from MortgageStar with over $65M in volume in the past year, has to say about RETR: “We’ve tried other data intelligence platforms and none of them compare to RETR.”

But you don’t have to take their word for it. RETR offers a free trial to individuals and organizations to judge the quality of the data and insights for themselves.