Now it’s time to take a look at the top mortgage lenders in Florida based on 2022 volume.
The Sunshine State is the biggest mortgage market outside of California, with about a 8% share of the national market.
In 2022, roughly $228 billion in home loans were originated there during what was a bittersweet year for mortgage lenders. For comparison sake, lenders closed about $350 billion a year earlier.
Let’s take a look at which lenders dominated the state, broken down by different categories.
As I always say, biggest doesn’t necessarily mean best, but it’s good to know who the players are.
Top Mortgage Lenders in Florida (Overall)
| Ranking | Company Name | 2022 Loan Volume |
| 1. | UWM | $15.3 billion |
| 2. | Rocket Mortgage | $11.3 billion |
| 3. | Chase | $5.4 billion |
| 4. | Wells Fargo | $5.0 billion |
| 5. | Bank of America | $4.9 billion |
| 6. | loanDepot | $4.5 billion |
| 7. | Truist | $3.8 billion |
| 8. | CrossCountry Mortgage | $3.8 billion |
| 9. | DHI Mortgage | $3.7 billion |
| 10. | Caliber Home Loans | $3.6 billion |
Pontiac, Michigan-based United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) was the top mortgage lender in the state of Florida last year, per HMDA data visualized by Richey May.
They easily beat out Rocket Mortgage by about $4 billion, the latter of which has been #1 nationally for a while now.
UWM funded roughly $15.3 billion in home loans, while Rocket (formerly known as Quicken Loans) managed to fund $11.3 billion, which represents a 7% and 5% market share in the state, respectively.
Last year might mark the first time UWM has beaten their cross-town rival hailing from Detroit.
Coming in third was JPMorgan Chase with $5.4 billion, followed by Wells Fargo with $5 billion, impressive given their numerous mortgage scandals.
Rounding out the top five was Bank of America with $4.9 billion in funded home loans during the year, giving depositories a decent chunk of the pie.
Others in the top-10 list included loanDepot, Truist, CrossCountry Mortgage, DHI Mortgage (home builder D.R. Horton’s financing division), and Caliber Home Loans.
Top Mortgage Lenders in Florida (for Home Purchases)
| Ranking | Company Name | 2022 Loan Volume |
| 1. | UWM | $11.6 billion |
| 2. | Rocket Mortgage | $4.5 billion |
| 3. | DHI Mortgage | $3.7 billion |
| 4. | CrossCountry Mortgage | $3.2 billion |
| 5. | Chase | $3.2 billion |
| 6. | Lennar Mortgage | $3.0 billion |
| 7. | Wells Fargo | $2.8 billion |
| 8. | Caliber Home Loans | $2.8 billion |
| 9. | loanDepot | $2.4 billion |
| 10. | Truist | $2.1 billion |
Now let’s fine-tune the list to only look at home purchase loans, those reserved for home buyers as opposed to existing homeowners.
Topping this list was UWM, whose $11.6 billion in home loan volume beat out Rocket’s $4.5 billion.
UWM actually topped this list in 2021 as well and even increased their dollar amount year-over-year.
DHI Mortgage gained several spots in the home purchase list, rising to third with $3.7 billion, well below the two heavy hitters.
Similar volume was seen by CrossCountry Mortgage and Chase with about $3.2 billion each.
The rest of the best included Lennar Mortgage (also a home builder), Wells Fargo, Caliber Home Loans, loanDepot, and Truist.
This list will be increasingly important as the mortgage market shifts toward purchase lending.
For context, the refinance share of mortgage applications hit 26.9% last week, per the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). So lenders will want to focus on purchase business moving forward.
It’s interesting to see two home builders in the top-10 list, a rarity up until recently with existing supply now grappling with the mortgage rate lock-in effect.
Top Mortgage Lenders in Florida (for Home Refinances)
| Ranking | Company Name | 2022 Loan Volume |
| 1. | Rocket Mortgage | $6.6 billion |
| 2. | UWM | $3.7 billion |
| 3. | loanDepot | $2.0 billion |
| 4. | Wells Fargo | $1.9 billion |
| 5. | Bank of America | $1.9 billion |
| 6. | Pennymac | $1.6 billion |
| 7. | Freedom Mortgage | $1.5 billion |
| 8. | PNC Bank | $1.5 billion |
| 9. | Mr. Cooper | $1.4 billion |
| 10. | Chase | $1.1 billion |
While Rocket lost out to UWM in the home purchase lending category, they reclaimed the top position when it came to mortgage refinances.
The Detroit-based lender originated $6.6 billion in refinance loans in Florida last year, nearly double UWM’s $3.7 billion tally.
Of course, these totals were super low compared to the $16.8 billion and $8.3 billion realized by the pair in 2021.
In third was loanDepot with $2.0 billion, followed by Wells Fargo in the fourth spot with $1.9 billion.
Bank of America snagged fifth, while Pennymac (made up of several old Countrywide personnel) came in sixth.
Freedom Mortgage, which had been the top VA loan lender in the country, could only muster the 7th spot after falling from third a year earlier.
Others in the top-10 included PNC Bank, Nationstar Mortgage (now known as Mr. Cooper), and Chase.
Top Mortgage Lenders in Jacksonville
| Ranking | Company Name | 2022 Loan Volume |
| 1. | UWM | $524 million |
| 2. | Rocket Mortgage | $404 million |
| 3. | VyStar Credit Union | $295 million |
| 4. | loanDepot | $172 million |
| 5. | Navy FCU | $163 million |
| 6. | Bank of England | $162 million |
| 7. | Ameris Bank | $155 million |
| 8. | Bank of America | $144 million |
| 9. | DHI Mortgage | $140 million |
| 10. | Regions Bank | $133 million |
Top Mortgage Lenders in Miami
| Ranking | Company Name | 2022 Loan Volume |
| 1. | Chase | $1.2 billion |
| 2. | UWM | $998 million |
| 3. | City National Bank (FL) | $713 million |
| 4. | Bank of America | $704 million |
| 5. | Citibank | $658 million |
| 6. | Wells Fargo | $601 million |
| 7. | First Republic Bank | $488 million |
| 8. | Rocket Mortgage | $449 million |
| 9. | Morgan Stanley | $403 million |
| 10. | Paramount Residential | $365 million |
Top Mortgage Lenders in Orlando
| Ranking | Company Name | 2022 Loan Volume |
| 1. | UWM | $976 million |
| 2. | Rocket Mortgage | $754 million |
| 3. | 3Rivers FCU | $420 million |
| 4. | Truist | $375 million |
| 5. | Wells Fargo | $360 million |
| 6. | DHI Mortgage | $275 million |
| 7. | loanDepot | $271 million |
| 8. | Regions Bank | $241 million |
| 9. | FBC Mortgage | $240 million |
| 10. | Capital One | $232 million |
Top Mortgage Lenders in Tampa
| Ranking | Company Name | 2022 Loan Volume |
| 1. | UWM | $2.2 billion |
| 2. | Rocket Mortgage | $1.6 billion |
| 3. | Lennar Mortgage | $841 million |
| 4. | Caliber Home Loans | $681 million |
| 5. | Truist | $655 million |
| 6. | loanDepot | $567 million |
| 7. | Wells Fargo | $526 million |
| 8. | DHI Mortgage | $523 million |
| 9. | Suncoast CU | $468 million |
| 10. | Bank of America | $438 million |
Should You Use One of the Largest Mortgage Lenders in Florida or Go Local?
Now aside from all the lenders mentioned, there were dozens more that originated several billion in home loans last year in the state of Florida.
That made them big names, despite not making the top-10 rankings. Examples include FBC Mortgage, The Mortgage Firm, and many others.
So if you want to get your mortgage from a big name, you could still do so without using one of the companies listed above.
At the same time, you might be perfectly happy going with a Florida-based credit union or a local mortgage broker.
At the end of the day, everyone has different preferences that will dictate where they get their home loan.
None of these options are necessarily better than others, they’re just different, as long as the company is financially sound and competent.
The only disservice you could do is not take the time to speak to several different lenders before deciding on one.
Comparison shopping is an absolute must when obtaining a mortgage, so be sure to put in the time whichever company you choose.
(photo: Marcin Wichary)