Mortgage lender · Columbia, MO · LEI 549300DD5QQUHO6PCH70

Mortgage Research Center review: approval odds, rates and grade (2025)

Mortgage Research Center earns a C, in line with the typical performance of large mortgage lenders. It turned down 28.1% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 25th percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.25 points below the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 95th percentile on pricing. Compared against 101 large mortgage lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

178kApplications2025
46.5%Originatedof applications
28.1%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
6.25%Median ratenational 6.63%
$27BLoan volume51 states

Mortgage Research Center at a glance, 2025

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

18.4%Denial rate (all applications)+0.44 pts vs national
28.1%Denial rate (decided applications)+5.54 pts vs national
46.5%Origination rate-11.58 pts vs national
24.1%Withdrawn by applicant
10.5%Closed for incompleteness
6.25%Median interest rate-0.38 pts vs national
-0.25Median rate spread (pts over APOR)-0.50 pts vs national
$305,000Median loan amount
$4,867Median total loan costs
$96kMedian applicant income
80%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the C 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%

25th28.1% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

95th-0.25 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

12th34.5%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

92nd1.60% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
2023125,00062,41315.4%23.3%6.75%$19B
2024147,45573,75916.0%24.0%6.50%$23B
2025178,18982,76418.4%28.1%6.25%$27B

What Mortgage Research Center 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 104,817 59% · 7.0% denied
Refinance 36,451 20% · 30.9% denied
Cash-out refinance 36,921 21% · 38.4% denied

By loan type

Conventional 13,744 8% · 26.6% denied
FHA 6,222 3% · 24.2% denied
VA 157,851 89% · 17.5% denied
USDA / RHS 372 0% · 22.3% denied

Also: 0 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 6,014 manufactured homes, 1,595 investment properties.

Why Mortgage Research Center denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 32,822 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Credit history 17,545 53%
Other 7,625 23%
Incomplete application 3,972 12%
Debt-to-income ratio 2,100 6%
Collateral 937 3%
Employment history 347 1%
Insufficient cash 296 1%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Mortgage Research Center

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k11,5343,60651.3%
$50k – $100k64,53434,19921.4%
$100k – $150k39,74121,04519.5%
$150k – $250k23,46011,57521.3%
Over $250k5,3192,19627.9%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 259,4325,88113.9%
25–3446,50325,46919.0%
35–4442,22520,19727.5%
45–5426,42611,46733.2%
55–6425,28510,30135.3%
65–7417,1276,13739.0%
Over 7411,1913,31244.0%

Where Mortgage Research Center lends

51 states and 3,026 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Texas14,2496,91817.5%6.25%#14
Florida14,0575,50621.2%6.25%#12
North Carolina10,0294,76917.7%6.25%#10
Georgia9,4434,13919.8%6.25%#7
Virginia9,0004,50016.7%6.25%#5
Ohio6,9473,30218.3%6.25%#13
Tennessee6,5683,17817.3%6.25%#5
California6,4942,51521.0%6.13%#33
Illinois5,9142,96516.0%6.25%#16
Missouri5,7342,90115.6%6.25%#8
Pennsylvania5,5442,64319.8%6.25%#12
South Carolina5,1892,33319.1%6.25%#9
Alabama5,1072,47118.4%6.25%#6
Michigan4,9422,33419.4%6.25%#12
Indiana4,7912,33119.0%6.25%#9
Oklahoma4,0121,89918.8%6.25%#7
Arizona3,6761,56518.8%6.13%#19
Kentucky3,6171,78618.0%6.25%#6
Washington3,5561,56117.0%6.13%#16
Maryland3,3511,40519.2%6.13%#13
Wisconsin3,2131,74315.8%6.25%#15
Colorado3,2041,30120.4%5.99%#18
Arkansas2,7671,23618.3%6.25%#6
Mississippi2,6281,22019.1%6.38%#11
Louisiana2,4451,09022.5%6.38%#12
Kansas2,3891,30815.1%6.25%#4
Minnesota2,2621,14317.7%6.25%#19
New Jersey2,11584221.6%6.25%#38
Nevada2,01790019.9%6.13%#16
Oregon1,97883817.9%6.13%#17
Iowa1,85795718.1%6.25%#12
New Mexico1,68382215.9%6.25%#9
Nebraska1,65195012.5%6.25%#10
New York1,64884921.7%6.25%#53
West Virginia1,59277117.4%6.25%#7
Massachusetts1,48162520.1%6.13%#30
Connecticut1,28458017.7%6.25%#25
Idaho1,15451518.5%6.13%#13
Maine1,10450717.6%6.25%#9
Utah1,06944717.2%5.99%#32
Montana94043916.7%6.13%#9
Alaska84444614.5%6.25%#5
New Hampshire80638017.9%6.13%#18
Hawaii69536814.7%6.13%#14
Wyoming59928016.9%6.25%#6
South Dakota59329816.7%6.25%#14
Delaware56320621.7%6.13%#23
North Dakota50027613.6%6.25%#9
Rhode Island36817622.3%6.25%#27
Vermont36616715.3%6.44%#14
District of Columbia1546322.7%5.99%#32

Frequently asked questions

Mortgage Research Center denied 28.1% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 25th percentile of large mortgage lenders.

The most common reason Mortgage Research Center gave in 2025 was "credit history", cited on 53.5% 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 Mortgage Research Center originated in 2025 was 6.25%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was -0.25 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 59% of its applications were for home purchases, 41% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 0% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 8% conventional, 3% FHA, 89% 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 Mortgage Research Center. Data sources · Methodology