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Mortgage Market Intel #20 - The 80/20 Rule for Loan Officers in the Age of AI

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Market Movers

Last week, 274 originators switched companies and 1,248 individuals obtained their NMLS license. Notable originator movements last week include:

Figures are based on last 14 months’ production.

Market Movers (Companies)

Top Gainers (non-Bank/CU):

  1. United Direct Lending LLC +11.15%
  2. READY MORTGAGE LENDERS LLC +7.19%
  3. Lifetime Home Loans, LLC +6.93%
  4. Integrity Home Mortgage Corporation +6.53%
  5. Archer Mortgage, LLC +3.75%
  6. Shield Home Loans Inc. +3.26%
  7. MBA Mortgage Corporation +3.2%
  8. Independent Mortgage Brokers LLC +2.95%
  9. Velocio Mortgage L.L.C. +2.43%
  10. Bay Capital Mortgage Corporation +2.19%

Calculations based on last aggregate production of individual LO’s 14 months’ production for companies with at least 20 loan officers. Excludes companies below $100M in 14mo LO production value after gains factored in.

 

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The 80/20 Rule for Loan Officers in the Age of AI 

As AI continues reshaping the mortgage industry, many are asking the same question:

Will technology make mortgage lending more efficient for everyone or will it concentrate production among an even smaller group of loan officers?

In mortgage and real estate, that fear is becoming more common by the day. AI can already summarize documents, automate outreach, analyze borrower behavior, and even generate marketing content in seconds. It’s fair to wonder how much of the business will eventually become automated.

So we decided to look at the data.

Specifically, we wanted to see whether mortgage loan origination follows the Pareto Principle — the classic “80/20 rule” where a small percentage of people drive the majority of outcomes.

Here’s what we found:

    • 2023: The top 20% of producing loan officers accounted for 71.9% of all loan volume
    • 2024: The top 20% accounted for 71.7%
    • 2025: The top 20% accounted for 72.4%

Despite dramatic shifts in rates, affordability, inventory, and technology adoption over the last three years, one thing remained remarkably consistent:

A relatively small group of originators continues to dominate production.

What’s perhaps even more interesting is that this happened while the total number of producing loan officers declined.

    • 2023: 234,809 producing LOs
    • 2024: 220,581 producing LOs
    • 2025: 225,222 producing LOs

Even as the industry contracted and technology accelerated, the concentration of production barely moved.

That tells us something important.

The mortgage business is not purely transactional. If it were, technology alone would likely flatten the curve over time. Instead, the same dynamic persists year after year because the highest-performing originators are not simply processing loans better.

They are building stronger relationships.

The top producers tend to have deeper referral networks, stronger Realtor partnerships, more repeat business, and greater trust within their communities. Those are advantages that are incredibly difficult to automate.

AI will absolutely change how mortgage professionals work. It will make processes faster, improve efficiency, and eliminate many repetitive tasks. The loan officers who embrace those tools will likely gain an edge.

But the data suggests that technology alone is not what creates outsized success in this industry.

Relationships still do.

And that’s exactly why relationship intelligence matters more than ever.

At RETR, our mission has never been about replacing human connection. It’s about enhancing it. Helping mortgage and real estate professionals identify the right relationships, strengthen existing partnerships, and uncover opportunities hidden inside the market data.

Because in a world increasingly focused on automation, the professionals who win will likely be the ones who combine technology with something AI still cannot replicate:

Trust.

Upcoming RETR Training

    • Mon, May 18 @ 2p ET - Intro to RETR: The Modern Loan Officer’s Data Advantage Register

    • Wed, May 20 @ 1p ET - Relationship Management for Loan Officers (Stop Chasing. Start Leveraging the Relationships That Already Produce.) Register
    Note: Full training calendar is available at https://training.retr.com

Is RETR Better?

When it comes to mortgage market intelligence, you have a handful of options, and RETR is one that truly stands out. Here’s what Jonathan Bellemore, top producer at Embrace Home Loans has to say about RETR: “RETR has been a powerful edge in my business. It gives me real time visibility into agent production, listing activity, and market movement, which lets me target the right partners instead of guessing. It has accelerated my agent recruiting and helped me start meaningful conversations with producers I actually want to work with.” 

 

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But you don’t have to take their word for it. RETR offers a free trial to loan officers, branches, and mortgage companies to judge the quality of the data and insights for themselves.