Mortgage lender · Santa Rosa, CA · LEI 5493001WRXQTCKCA6205

Redwood review: approval odds, rates and grade (2025)

Redwood earns a C, in line with the typical performance of home-equity (HELOC) lenders. It turned down 21.2% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 59th percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.84 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 12th percentile on pricing. Compared against 412 home-equity (HELOC) lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

4.6kApplications2025
63.3%Originatedof applications
21.2%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
8.00%Median ratenational 6.63%
$1.1BLoan volume3 states

Redwood at a glance, 2025

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

17.6%Denial rate (all applications)-0.41 pts vs national
21.2%Denial rate (decided applications)-1.41 pts vs national
63.3%Origination rate+5.26 pts vs national
11.8%Withdrawn by applicant
5.2%Closed for incompleteness
8.00%Median interest rate+1.38 pts vs national
0.84Median rate spread (pts over APOR)+0.59 pts vs national
$185,000Median loan amount
$7,788Median total loan costs
$165kMedian applicant income
64%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the C grade breaks down

Each component is a percentile rank among 412 home-equity (HELOC) lenders. Higher is better. Components the lender does not report are left out and the weights redistributed.

Approval oddsdecision denial rate, weight 45%

59th21.2% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

12th0.84 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

27th17.0%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

25th4.21% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20234,0202,63513.6%16.8%7.49%$690M
20243,4942,06021.3%25.8%8.75%$600M
20254,6262,92817.6%21.2%8.00%$1.1B

What Redwood 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 1,101 24% · 6.1% denied
Refinance 201 4% · 24.4% denied
Cash-out refinance 809 17% · 19.7% denied
Home improvement 1,549 33% · 16.0% denied
Other / HELOC 966 21% · 30.0% denied

By loan type

Conventional 4,625 100% · 17.6% denied
FHA 1 0% · 100.0% denied

Also: 2,345 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 78 manufactured homes, 373 investment properties.

Why Redwood denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 813 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Debt-to-income ratio 426 52%
Credit history 160 20%
Collateral 117 14%
Other 84 10%
Insufficient cash 11 1%
Unverifiable information 8 1%
Employment history 6 1%
Incomplete application 1 0%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Redwood

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k2256563.4%
$50k – $100k86144335.9%
$100k – $150k91757319.8%
$150k – $250k1,25286913.7%
Over $250k1,27792211.4%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 25282119.2%
25–3446532719.8%
35–441,07269519.9%
45–5499761723.0%
55–6498361420.6%
65–7469442422.2%
Over 7437522122.4%

Where Redwood lends

3 states and 49 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
California4,6232,92817.5%8.00%#42

Frequently asked questions

Redwood denied 21.2% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 59th percentile of home-equity (HELOC) lenders.

The most common reason Redwood gave in 2025 was "debt-to-income ratio", cited on 52.4% 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 Redwood originated in 2025 was 8.00%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 0.84 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 24% of its applications were for home purchases, 22% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 54% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 100% conventional, 0% FHA, 0% 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 Redwood. Data sources · Methodology