themortgagellm™Rocket Mortgage vs UWM denial rates by loan type, 2023
Prompt
“Compare Rocket Mortgage and UWM on denial rates by loan type for 2023.”
Response
2023 HMDA denial-rate comparison (denied applications) for Rocket Mortgage, LLC and United Wholesale Mortgage, LLC:
| Loan type | Rocket Mortgage denial rate | UWM denial rate |
|---|---|---|
| Conventional | 15.13% (n=239,909) | 12.16% (n=231,131) |
| FHA | 28.64% (n=97,407) | 17.20% (n=78,677) |
| VA | 19.65% (n=27,002) | 10.33% (n=32,456) |
Read:
- UWM runs structurally lower denial rates across every loan type. As a wholesale-only channel, UWM's broker network pre-screens applications before submission — broker compensation hinges on close rate, which filters out marginal applicants.
- The largest gap is on FHA (11.4 pp) — Rocket's direct-to-consumer channel processes a wider tail of marginal-credit FHA applicants that UWM's broker channel doesn't see. The 28.6% Rocket FHA denial rate is notably above the broader FHA-origination industry average.
- VA shows a 9.3 pp gap in the same direction. VA's no-down-payment / streamlined credit eligibility makes the application universe especially sensitive to channel composition.
- Both numbers are denial of credit-decisioned applications — they exclude applications that were withdrawn by the applicant or left incomplete.
The headline numbers can shift ~1 pp depending on whether you include or exclude preapproval applications and second-lien products. The directional gap (UWM below Rocket on every loan type) is robust.