The annual adjustment that FHFA makes to conforming loan limits presents opportunities and challenges for jumbo lenders, according to new research.

Non-agency jumbo mortgages gained market share with production up nearly 40% on an annual basis in 2025. All but one of the top 10 non-agency jumbo lenders reported year-on-year increases. (Includes data table.)

Originations of non-agency jumbo mortgages declined by 6.4% during the third quarter of 2025. (Includes data table.)

Originations of non-agency jumbo mortgages increased by nearly 60% in the second quarter of 2025. All of the top 50 lenders increased their jumbo originations compared with the first quarter. (Includes data table.)

Issuance of prime non-agency mortgage-backed securities reached $11.0 billion during the second quarter of 2025, a 6.5% increase from the first quarter. Some $7.95 billion were jumbo mortgages. (Includes three data tables.)

A cornucopia of non-agency MBS hit the market in early July.

Retail lending among lenders in the analysis declined sharply during the first quarter while the correspondent and broker channels posted more modest declines in nonconforming production. (Includes two data tables.)

Short-term mortgages track residential transition loans and fix-and-flip loans. Last year, originations were up 34.6% compared with 2023. (Includes data table.)

Non-agency jumbos accounted for 13.8% of total first-lien originations in the first quarter of 2025, compared with an 11.1% share in the first quarter of 2024. Chase remained the top jumbo producer and Redwood Trust is gaining momentum. (Includes data table.)

The denial rate on applications for jumbo refinances dropped to 22.2% in 2024 from 25.4% in the year earlier, while only 10.3% of jumbo purchase-mortgage applications were turned down. (Includes data table.)