Polygon Research's Channel Study 2024 is an in-depth analysis of mortgage lending costs from the past four to six years by channel, by loan type, and by Census tract characteristics. Presented here is the Executive Summary of the Study.
At a high level mortgages are originated via one of two business models: retail and third-party originations (TPO). The dominant TPO segment is wholesale lenders providing loans to consumers through independent mortgage brokers. Wholesale lenders do not interact directly with consumers but instead work with brokers who act as intermediaries. The wholesale model allows lenders to focus on loan origination and underwriting while delegating the customer-facing tasks to brokers.
Retail Loan Channel
Broker Loan Channel
Delegated and Non-Delegated Loan Channels