Cost To Make A Mortgage: $11,800 Per Loan – NMP Skip to main content

Cost To Make A Mortgage: $11,800 Per Loan

Dec 01, 2025
Cost To Make A Mortgage
Staff Writer

Freddie Mac reports that mortgage production costs remain high despite modest quarterly improvement, with lenders seeing higher per-loan income but relying on Loan Product Advisor tools to offset rising expenses

The average cost to produce a mortgage in the second quarter of 2025 was $11,800, according to a Freddie Mac analysis of retail lender expenses.

Of that, lenders are reporting their pre-tax net income per loan of $900. That dollar amount is the most since 2021, but at the same time, Freddie Mac warned, “production costs continue to trend upward.”

The second quarter production cost is an improvement over the first quarter of the year, when it cost $13,400 to make a mortgage. But it’s still roughly $200 more when compared to 2023's third quarter total of $11,600, the government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) reported.

The figures are part of Freddie’s Single-Family Team’s 2025 Updates to the Cost to Originate Study. The update touted the GSE’s “flagship” automated underwriting system, Loan Product Advisor (LPA), which the company said could deliver up to $1,700 in savings per loan.

“The cost to originate loans continues to rise,” the analysis reported, “but lenders using LPA digital capabilities save $1,700 per loan — about a 13% increase from 2024.”


About the author
Staff Writer
Lew Sichelman has been covering the housing and mortgage sectors for 52 years. His syndicated column appears in major newspapers throughout the country.
Published
Dec 01, 2025
Port St. Lucie Shows Where Florida’s Housing Growth Is Moving

Available land, lower home prices, and domestic migration are drawing buyers to the Treasure Coast as growth slows in several larger Florida cities

Sep 16, 2026
Southern Boomtowns Expand The Mortgage Prospect Pool

Eight of LendingTree’s 10 leading growth markets are in the South, but more residents and housing do not automatically produce more closings

Sep 15, 2026
New-Home Mortgage Applications Fall For Fifth Straight Month

Applications reached their lowest level of 2026 in August as higher mortgage rates constrained demand and FHA loans gained a larger share of new-home financing

Sep 15, 2026
Credit Card Debt Drives Homeowners Toward Equity

More than half have researched debt consolidation, while 42% are considering tapping home equity to pay down card balances

Sep 14, 2026
What Wednesday’s Fed Decision Could Mean For Mortgage Rates

Markets overwhelmingly expect a quarter-point hike, but the Fed’s projections and the bond market’s response may matter more to originators

Sep 14, 2026
Inventory Recovery Fails To Revive Purchase Market

Existing-home supply reached its highest level since 2019, but elevated payments and economic uncertainty pushed sales to a 14-month low

Sep 11, 2026