★ Add LoanOfficer.ai as a preferred source on Google
For mortgage pros, the takeaway is practical: investor and self-employed demand is still showing up, but not always in the obvious markets or borrower profiles.
Non-QM borrowers are becoming harder to define and harder to find, according to a HousingWire report published September 21, 2026. The report says demand continues to grow, led by investor borrowers and self-employed borrowers, including in less obvious pockets of the country.
That matters for producing loan officers because non-QM is not simply a niche borrower box anymore. If the borrower profile is getting less predictable, then prospecting, referral conversations, documentation review, and product matching all need to get sharper.