Mortgage lender · Chicago, IL · LEI 549300U3721PJGQZYY68

Guaranteed Rate review: approval odds, rates and grade (2025)

Guaranteed Rate earns a B, better than most large mortgage lenders. It turned down 9.2% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 72nd percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.21 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 67th percentile on pricing. Compared against 101 large mortgage lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

129kApplications2025
54.7%Originatedof applications
9.2%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
6.58%Median ratenational 6.63%
$29BLoan volume51 states

Guaranteed Rate at a glance, 2025

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

5.7%Denial rate (all applications)-12.32 pts vs national
9.2%Denial rate (decided applications)-13.44 pts vs national
54.7%Origination rate-3.36 pts vs national
27.1%Withdrawn by applicant
11.1%Closed for incompleteness
6.58%Median interest rate-0.05 pts vs national
0.21Median rate spread (pts over APOR)-0.04 pts vs national
$335,000Median loan amount
$6,363Median total loan costs
$129kMedian applicant income
80%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the B grade breaks down

Each component is a percentile rank among 101 large mortgage lenders. Higher is better. Components the lender does not report are left out and the weights redistributed.

Approval oddsdecision denial rate, weight 45%

72nd9.2% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

67th0.21 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

9th38.1%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

84th1.90% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
2023107,43656,3934.2%7.3%6.63%$20B
2024100,58962,8206.3%9.0%6.63%$25B
2025129,10670,5795.7%9.2%6.58%$29B

What Guaranteed Rate 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 83,719 65% · 3.4% denied
Refinance 19,012 15% · 3.4% denied
Cash-out refinance 17,828 14% · 8.8% denied
Home improvement 3,103 2% · 27.7% denied
Other / HELOC 5,444 4% · 25.7% denied

By loan type

Conventional 97,718 76% · 5.4% denied
FHA 20,028 16% · 8.4% denied
VA 10,864 8% · 3.2% denied
USDA / RHS 496 0% · 6.9% denied

Also: 8,193 home-equity lines, 547 reverse mortgages, 2,654 manufactured homes, 10,705 investment properties.

Why Guaranteed Rate denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 7,310 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Debt-to-income ratio 2,435 33%
Credit history 1,288 18%
Collateral 973 13%
Incomplete application 946 13%
Other 922 13%
Unverifiable information 387 5%
Insufficient cash 272 4%
Employment history 87 1%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Guaranteed Rate

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k7,4572,76528.8%
$50k – $100k34,81619,15911.1%
$100k – $150k29,35116,6997.4%
$150k – $250k28,66216,0316.1%
Over $250k22,62312,6955.1%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 255,0343,2336.6%
25–3435,03920,6085.5%
35–4436,94520,2697.9%
45–5423,95312,55311.4%
55–6416,4628,38712.7%
65–748,3964,08214.9%
Over 743,2771,44720.2%

Where Guaranteed Rate lends

51 states and 2,448 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Illinois17,47910,2174.9%6.63%#1
California12,2356,2485.4%6.53%#17
New Jersey8,6434,8265.5%6.58%#8
Texas7,3963,3185.9%6.50%#26
Massachusetts7,3134,5074.5%6.50%#4
Florida7,0203,2049.4%6.63%#31
Pennsylvania5,1603,1194.3%6.58%#15
Ohio4,9552,7953.9%6.58%#19
North Carolina4,6252,4915.5%6.53%#24
Colorado3,8222,1433.7%6.45%#13
Tennessee3,3681,8684.5%6.38%#22
Georgia3,2361,4478.2%6.50%#32
Virginia3,1641,7374.9%6.25%#26
Washington3,1531,8473.7%6.50%#24
Michigan3,0141,7075.2%6.63%#33
Arizona2,7271,3946.6%6.58%#28
Indiana2,6691,4316.9%6.63%#30
Minnesota2,4171,5525.5%6.58%#17
New York2,1461,1164.4%6.63%#38
South Carolina1,9881,1346.2%6.58%#28
Nevada1,8629868.6%6.75%#17
Wisconsin1,7971,1685.4%6.53%#27
Oregon1,7501,0653.1%6.58%#20
Maryland1,5157686.1%6.38%#36
Connecticut1,5068437.4%6.63%#23
Iowa1,0236546.7%6.50%#21
Idaho9846435.3%6.58%#17
Missouri9644219.1%6.50%#53
Nebraska8635584.1%6.50%#18
Alabama8153679.8%6.58%#54
Hawaii7664435.4%6.50%#13
Montana7584626.3%6.50%#11
Kentucky7263595.8%6.50%#61
Oklahoma7063138.1%6.53%#48
Utah7034018.7%6.50%#44
New Hampshire7004184.6%6.55%#20
New Mexico5872086.8%6.60%#29
Arkansas5142506.8%6.50%#49
Maine5002775.8%6.50%#31
West Virginia4922645.9%6.69%#27
Rhode Island4262505.6%6.58%#26
Mississippi36418416.8%6.50%#55
Louisiana35413713.0%6.59%#79
Kansas3511628.3%6.50%#73
District of Columbia3201824.1%6.50%#12
South Dakota2801738.9%6.38%#25
Wyoming2221134.1%6.38%#26
Alaska2211389.1%6.53%#22
Delaware2161206.9%6.63%#52
North Dakota1941019.3%6.38%#25
Vermont97509.3%6.93%#43

Frequently asked questions

Guaranteed Rate denied 9.2% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 72nd percentile of large mortgage lenders.

The most common reason Guaranteed Rate gave in 2025 was "debt-to-income ratio", cited on 33.3% 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 Guaranteed Rate originated in 2025 was 6.58%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 0.21 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 65% of its applications were for home purchases, 29% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 7% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 76% conventional, 16% FHA, 8% 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 Guaranteed Rate. Data sources · Methodology