Mortgage lender · Cottonwood Heights, UT · LEI 984500F5665613E36549

Direct Rate Home Loans review: approval odds, rates and grade (2025)

Direct Rate Home Loans earns a B, better than most small mortgage lenders. It turned down 8.7% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 55th percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.13 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 68th percentile on pricing. Compared against 1,883 small mortgage lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

579Applications2025
63.2%Originatedof applications
8.7%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
6.38%Median ratenational 6.63%
$187MLoan volume14 states

Direct Rate Home Loans at a glance, 2025

Every figure is from the lender's own HMDA filing. "vs national" compares with all lenders combined.

6.2%Denial rate (all applications)-11.76 pts vs national
8.7%Denial rate (decided applications)-13.92 pts vs national
63.2%Origination rate+5.18 pts vs national
27.6%Withdrawn by applicant
0.7%Closed for incompleteness
6.38%Median interest rate-0.25 pts vs national
0.13Median rate spread (pts over APOR)-0.12 pts vs national
$445,000Median loan amount
$7,407Median total loan costs
$127kMedian applicant income
80%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the B grade breaks down

Each component is a percentile rank among 1,883 small mortgage lenders. Higher is better. Components the lender does not report are left out and the weights redistributed.

Approval oddsdecision denial rate, weight 45%

55th8.7% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

68th0.13 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

7th28.3%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

60th1.66% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
2023500.0%$0
202427140.0%0.0%6.63%$5.9M
20255793666.2%8.7%6.38%$187M

What Direct Rate Home Loans lends

Applications by purpose and loan type in 2025, with the denial rate for each. A lender's mix explains a lot of its headline rate: HELOCs and FHA loans are denied far more often than conventional purchase loans.

By loan purpose

Home purchase 423 73% · 4.5% denied
Refinance 126 22% · 10.3% denied
Cash-out refinance 30 5% · 13.3% denied

By loan type

Conventional 405 70% · 6.2% denied
FHA 78 13% · 9.0% denied
VA 95 16% · 4.2% denied
USDA / RHS 1 0% · 0.0% denied

Also: 0 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 1 manufactured homes, 33 investment properties.

Why Direct Rate Home Loans denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 36 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Debt-to-income ratio 15 42%
Unverifiable information 7 19%
Collateral 6 17%
Credit history 5 14%
Insufficient cash 3 8%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Direct Rate Home Loans

Decision denial rate by applicant profile. Groups with fewer than 20 applications are omitted.

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
$50k – $100k1641018.0%
$100k – $150k1551009.7%
$150k – $250k124854.4%
Over $250k955614.1%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 2529185.3%
25–342021315.6%
35–441801107.9%
45–5495627.3%
55–64382328.1%
65–7429195.0%

Where Direct Rate Home Loans lends

14 states and 51 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Utah5243345.9%6.38%#57
Washington181011.1%6.63%#398
Idaho8512.5%6.25%#282
Oregon740.0%5.81%#407
Arizona540.0%6.81%#610

Frequently asked questions

Direct Rate Home Loans denied 8.7% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 55th percentile of small mortgage lenders.

The most common reason Direct Rate Home Loans gave in 2025 was "debt-to-income ratio", cited on 41.7% of its denials. Lenders report up to four reasons per denial to the CFPB; the full breakdown is on this page.

The median interest rate on loans Direct Rate Home Loans originated in 2025 was 6.38%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 0.13 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 73% of its applications were for home purchases, 27% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 0% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 70% conventional, 13% FHA, 16% VA.

Every figure on this page comes from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Loan/Application Register published by the CFPB, which lenders are required by federal law to file. We add the grade and the comparisons; we do not add facts.

About this data. HMDA data is published once a year by the CFPB. The current release covers applications acted on in calendar year 2025. Figures describe applications the lender acted on, including loans it later sold. Interest rates and costs are medians on originated loans only; some depository institutions are exempt from reporting pricing fields, which is why a few cells read "—". MortgageGrades is not affiliated with Direct Rate Home Loans. Data sources · Methodology