Both purchase-mortgage lending and refinancing were down substantially in the first quarter, but a number of lenders gained share — or even increased production volume — compared with the prior period. (Includes four data charts.)

Some experts expect MSR trading to top $1 trillion in each of the next three years, surpassing the approximately $900 billion traded in 2022.

With production expenses rising to more than $13,000 per loan, and four straight quarters of negative net income, mortgage lenders struggle to find ways to stay in business.