California Mortgage Lending in 2025
Explore residential mortgage lending activity in California using official HMDA public records. Review underwriting credit decisions, borrower demographics, regional metro markets, and the most active lenders.
State Profile
CA
322,897
Loans Originated
• 28 Metropolitan Areas
• $227.16 Billion Originated Volume
• $575,000 Median Loan
Actionable Applications
404,468
+10.23% vs 2024
Approval Rate
84.45%
+0.13 pp vs 2024
Denial Rate
15.55%
-0.13 pp vs 2024
Loan Originations
322,897
+10.28% vs 2024
Originated Volume
$227.16 Billion
+16.61% vs 2024
Credit Decision Outcomes (2025)
Outcomes for 404,468 actionable applications (Actions 1, 2, and 3).
Action 1: Originated
322,897
(79.83%)
Action 2: Approved not accepted
18,659
(4.61%)
Action 3: Denied
62,912
(15.55%)
Action 4: Withdrawn (not in denominator)
98,937
—
Action 5: Incomplete (not in denominator)
28,915
—
How to read this: Approval rate uses Actions 1, 2, and 3. Actions 4 and 5 are excluded from the credit decision denominator. Read the full methodology →
How California Compares
Key metrics: California vs. U.S. (2025)
| Metric | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Actionable Apps | 404,468 | 5,197,320 |
| Approval Rate | 84.45% | 82.12% |
| Denial Rate | 15.55% | 17.88% |
| Originations | 322,897 | 4,052,301 |
| Originated Volume | $227.16 Billion | $1.58 Trillion |
| Median Loan | $575,000 | $325,000 |
Lending Trends in California
Year-over-year shifts: 2025 vs. 2024
| Metric | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Universe | 478,309 | 532,320 | +11.29% |
| Actionable Apps | 366,947 | 404,468 | +10.23% |
| Originations | 292,793 | 322,897 | +10.28% |
| Approval Rate | 84.32% | 84.45% | +0.13 pp |
| Denial Rate | 15.68% | 15.55% | -0.13 pp |
| Median Loan | $555,000 | $575,000 | +3.60% |
| Dollar Volume | $194.80 Billion | $227.16 Billion | +16.61% |
Applications by Borrower Income (California)
Approval and denial rates across gross annual income tiers (2025)
| Income Bracket | Apps | Approval % | Denial % |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100k–$149,999 | 86,809 | 84.52% | 15.48% |
| $150k+ | 213,091 | 89.80% | 10.20% |
| $50k–$99,999 | 63,266 | 74.53% | 25.47% |
| <$50k | 14,721 | 56.46% | 43.54% |
| Income unavailable/entity | 26,581 | 80.36% | 19.64% |
Gross annual borrower income relied upon during credit underwriting. Descriptive figures only; does not establish causation.
Metropolitan Areas in California
Top metropolitan areas ranked by total actionable applications
| Metropolitan Area | Apps | Originations | Approval % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale | 69,496 | 54,009 | 82.94% |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | 65,415 | 49,555 | 81.40% |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | 35,671 | 28,680 | 85.13% |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | 33,998 | 27,890 | 86.34% |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley | 30,837 | 25,919 | 87.35% |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine | 26,737 | 21,790 | 85.66% |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara | 20,398 | 17,442 | 89.08% |
| Fresno | 13,517 | 10,545 | 82.13% |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City | 12,532 | 11,033 | 90.52% |
| Bakersfield-Delano | 12,134 | 9,356 | 82.07% |
| Stockton-Lodi | 10,690 | 8,408 | 83.07% |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | 8,316 | 6,775 | 85.89% |
| Vallejo | 6,352 | 5,024 | 83.47% |
| Modesto | 6,137 | 4,819 | 82.91% |
| Visalia | 5,440 | 4,376 | 84.43% |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma | 5,110 | 4,201 | 87.50% |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara | 3,421 | 2,740 | 84.77% |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | 2,970 | 2,470 | 86.70% |
| Salinas | 2,958 | 2,306 | 82.76% |
| Yuba City | 2,853 | 2,239 | 83.04% |
| Merced | 2,905 | 2,219 | 81.17% |
| Redding | 2,673 | 2,132 | 84.40% |
| Chico | 2,666 | 2,156 | 84.47% |
| San Rafael | 2,559 | 2,237 | 89.64% |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | 2,061 | 1,726 | 87.87% |
| Hanford-Corcoran | 2,001 | 1,612 | 85.16% |
| El Centro | 1,550 | 1,178 | 80.26% |
| Napa | 1,228 | 973 | 84.69% |
Top Mortgage Lenders by Action 1 Originations
Institutions ranked strictly by total originated loans in California (2025)
| Rank | Lending Institution | Originations | Approval % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Wholesale Mortgage | 47,890 | 86.98% |
| 2 | ROCKET MORTGAGE | 26,748 | 80.42% |
| 3 | JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA | 8,682 | 87.83% |
| 4 | US BANK, N.A. | 8,625 | 89.57% |
| 5 | WELLS FARGO BANK NA | 8,294 | 87.20% |
| 6 | CROSSCOUNTRY MORTGAGE, LLC | 7,277 | 97.88% |
| 7 | PENNYMAC LOAN SERVICES LLC | 7,097 | 82.94% |
| 8 | Bank of America NA | 6,144 | 88.82% |
| 9 | Lennar Mortgage, LLC | 5,963 | 91.09% |
| 10 | loanDepot.com LLC | 5,672 | 82.82% |
Methodology
Learn how HMDA credit outcomes, action codes, and consumer filters are computed.
Read Methodology →State Directory
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