jbancroft@imfpubs.com

Third-party originators are playing an increasingly important role in government lending, according to a new Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of survey data from top lenders.

Retail originations of FHA, VA and rural housing loans declined 10.8% from the fourth quarter of 2018 to the first three months of this year, the biggest decline among the three major production channels.

That pushed the retail share of new government-insured lending down to 34.9%, its lowest level since 2015.

Meanwhile, the wholesale-broker market was booming. Production jumped 21.3% from the fourth quarter, raising the channel’s share of the market to 18.3%. Compared to the first quarter of 2018, broker originations of government loans were up 24.2% in the first three months of this year. For more details and exclusive TPO production tables, see the new edition of Inside FHA/VA Lending, now available online.