The number of producing loan officers will increase in 2025 as the mortgage market stabilizes

Final figures will be confirmed once the license renewal grace period ends in February. But early analysis suggests that at some point in 2025, more producing LOs were active than the year before.

The LO population rose during the pandemic as historically low mortgage rates fueled refinancing and purchasing activity. At its peak, the producing LO workforce approached 290,000 as lenders rapidly expanded staff to meet demand with interest rates in the 2% to 4% range.

That expansion was followed by widespread layoffs, bankruptcies and mergers and acquisitions, as interest rates rose sharply and production volumes collapsed. The number of producing LOs declined steadily, reaching a low point in 2024 after the pandemic. The recovery since then has been slow and uneven.

Association of Mortgage Bankers (MBA) data shows that three different sources — the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Nationwide multi-state licensing system (NMLS) and the MBA’s own Quarterly Performance Report indicate a consistent trend: manufacturing employment has stabilized over the past six quarters compared to the period of dramatic decline from 2021 to 2023.

“The number of new loans is expected to increase through 2027, which could also mean a modest recovery in mortgage industry employment,” the MBA said.

Employment trends

LO employment trends in 2025 varied widely by business type. While banks, credit unions and mortgage brokers showed signs of recovery last year, independent building societies (IMBs) continued to shed sales staff.

Brokers posted the strongest growth, with their LO count increasing 12.5% ​​year over year to 56,803, although they are still the smallest LO component of the market.

Banks and credit unions increased their combined number of LOs by 5% to 89,389 by 2025. In contrast, IMBs and other lenders saw an 11.7% decline, to 74,969 LOs.

The number of real estate agents also continued to decline in 2025, down 3% to 1,055,912, according to RETR.

“This is a time to hang in there and double down on relationships because that’s when things get better,” Wynands said.

According to Wynands, the improving sentiment is related to greater stability of mortgage rates.

“We are now back to a point where the consensus is that we are not going to 5% – we are staying within the 6% range,” he said. “That shifts the borrower’s mentality back to, ‘Let’s get back to buying houses.'”