Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions and its affiliates, Angel Oak Home Loans and Angel Oak Prime Bridge, together originated more than $1.1 billion in non-qualified mortgage (non-QM) loans in 2017 – the highest volume in the companies’ history.
Total originations across the lending platform rose by 40% compared with 2016, the companies report. Most of this growth was due to increased demand for Angel Oak’s non-QM products.
As a result of this increasing demand, the Angel Oak Companies increased their staffing by about 40% in 2017.
Angel Oak Home Loans, the retail lending affiliate, moved to meet increased demand in the Southern California market by adding branches in Irvine, Oxnard and Newport Beach. It also began a concerted effort to expand into North Carolina, starting in Wilmington, according to a press release.
Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, the wholesale mortgage affiliate, expanded by adding account executives in Birmingham, Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis, Columbus (OH), San Antonio, Houston and Nashville. The division also added licenses in five additional states, bringing the total to 38. The plan is to be in 46 states by the end of 2018.
In addition, Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions established a correspondent lending channel, opening the door to potentially exponential growth as large national lenders seek access to Angel Oak’s non-QM products.
Angel Oak Prime Bridge, which focuses on investment property lending, expanded to 15 states in 2017, matching increased demand from investors. With another seven states planned for 2018, it is primed to match its 300% growth in origination volume from this past year, according to the release.
“Our lending growth reflects a new era in mortgage credit,” says Mike Fierman, managing partner and co-CEO for the Angel Oak Companies. “The mortgage industry has excluded too many creditworthy borrowers for too long. However, in 2017, the industry finally started to embrace non-QM products in a big way. As we look ahead, a strong housing market and solid economic fundamentals will continue to drive demand for innovative mortgage products. The difference today is that everyone from borrowers to realtors to Wall Street now recognizes the quality of non-QM products from Angel Oak.”
“We believe that the non-QM market will grow from its current size of a few billion dollars per year to over $100 billion in the coming years,” adds Steven Schwalb, managing partner of the Angel Oak lending platform. “Angel Oak has already positioned itself as the leader in non-QM lending, but we see huge potential for future growth. We’re working every day to meet and capture that growing demand.”