Now it’s time to check out the top mortgage lenders in DC, the capital of the United States.

In 2021, nearly 800 mortgage companies originated roughly $139 billion in home loans in The District.

That was one of the bigger totals for a state, even though the District of Columbia isn’t actually a state

Anyway, there can be only one…top mortgage lender to rule the rest. And as you may have guessed, it was Rocket Mortgage.

Some local companies made the top-10 lists as well. Read on to see who.

Top Mortgage Lenders in DC (Overall)

In 2021, Rocket Mortgage led the District of Columbia with a solid $8.4 billion funded, per HMDA data from Richey May.

They were trailed by Los Angeles-based Pennymac with $6.4 billion, which is a top correspondent lender.

In third was Freedom Mortgage with a close $5.4 billion, followed by Truist with $5.1 billion and Wells Fargo with $4.7 billion.

The bottom half of the top 10 included loanDepot, Mr. Cooper, McLean Mortgage, Intercoastal Mortgage, and United Wholesale Mortgage.

Both McLean Mortgage and Intercoastal Mortgage can be considered local companies as both call Fairfax, Virginia home.

Always good to see some homegrown lenders shake it up with the big national brands.

Top Mortgage Lenders in Washington DC (for Home Buyers)

If we focus on home buyers, the list changes quite a bit, both with new names and a new order.

In first was Truist with $2.5 billion funded, not a big surprise as home buyers often turn to banks over nonbank lenders for an important home purchase.

However, Pennymac was a very close second with $2.4 billion funded, followed by McLean Mortgage with $1.9 billion.

Home buyers also seem to like using local options as it probably gives them peace of mind.

In fourth was Wells Fargo with $1.8 billion, and Intercoastal Mortgage rounded out the top five with $1.7 billion.

Others included in the top 10 were Chase, Caliber Home Loans, Atlantic Coast Mortgage, U.S. Bank, and George Mason Mortgage.

They all had surprisingly close home purchase totals to one another.

Top Refinance Lenders in DC (for Existing Homeowners)

What about existing homeowners looking to a refinance a mortgage? Well, that list was different too.

Like the overall list, Rocket Mortgage was king with $7.1 billion funded. That was a good chunk of their overall volume.

In second was Freedom Mortgage with $4.5 billion, known as a VA loan specialist.

Pennymac took third with $4.1 billion, followed closely by loanDepot with $4 billion and Wells Fargo with $3.1 billion.

The rest of the best included Truist, Mr. Cooper, United Wholesale Mortgage, Vienna, VA-based Navy FCU, and Newrez.

It’s not uncommon for existing homeowners to use out-of-state lenders for a refinance, which sums up this list.

The Best Mortgage Lenders in Washington DC

Now let’s talk about the best mortgage lenders in the District of Columbia based on customer reviews.

As always, I turn to Zillow to check out customer reviews. For DC, it’s a bit unique as none of the lenders are actually in DC.

But they are local companies in nearby states, including Maryland and Virginia.

McLean Mortgage comes in with an excellent 4.99/5 score from nearly 3,000 customer reviews, which is basically unbeatable.

Chevy Chase-based Forbright Bank has the second largest number of reviews (about 1,500) and a 4.82/5 rating. Pretty solid.

Then there’s Bethesda, Maryland’s Presidential Bank and its superior 4.99/5 rating, which is obviously nearly flawless. That’s from about 750 reviews.

McLean-based Aurora Financial has a similar number of reviews but a 4.7/5 rating, while Navy Federal Credit Union has a 4.22/5 from just over 100 reviews.

There’s also Bethesda-based Mortgagestar, which has a perfect 5/5 rating from over 200 reviews and Alexandria, VA-based Potomac Trust Mortgage’s 4.91/5.

So plenty of good options for a home loan in The District. Don’t forget to include local mortgage brokers in your search as well.