Purchase loan counts fell to 2014 levels in the first quarter of 2026 as persistent affordability challenges continue to hinder homebuying demand, signaling deeper challenges facing mortgage lenders amid a fourth straight year of low production, fragile profits and accelerating consolidation.
Even as total originations by loan count grew 5% on a yearly basis in the first three months of 2026, purchase business contracted 19% from the fourth quarter and roughly 2% from year-ago levels, according to new data from real estate market analytics firm Attom.
And while first-quarter originations were 15% higher over the year by dollar volume, reaching slightly under $578 billion, experts caution that structural shifts underway in the industry obscu...