★ Add LoanOfficer.ai as a preferred source on Google
A HousingWire report citing MBA data says the top and bottom cost performers were separated by $6,350 per loan in Q2 2026, a number every lender leader should pressure-test against their own model.
HousingWire reported on September 9, 2026, that Mortgage Bankers Association data showed a $6,350 mortgage per-loan cost gap between top- and bottom-quintile performers in the second quarter of 2026. The story, titled “Do you have what it takes to scale profitably for the model you are running?”, frames the issue around whether mortgage companies are actually built to scale profitably under the operating model they have chosen.
For producing loan officers and lender leaders, that number matters because per-loan cost is not some back-office abstraction. It shows up in comp pressure, pricing flexibility, staffing decisions, turn times, tech investment, branch support, and whether a lender can stay aggressive when volume gets choppy.