Safe Rate Rankings

Best All Lender Mortgage Lenders in Hickory

Updated May 22, 2026

⚖️ The 4 PsRankings are calculated based on observed lender differences on closed loans across Pricing, Pull-through, Product, and Place.

🛡️ No Pay to PlayLenders cannot buy their way to the top. Rankings are 100% earned.

📊 HMDA 2024Built using publicly available originated loan data from the federal government.

🎯 Peer BenchmarkedPerformance is normalized and benchmarked against peer institutions.

Market

Total Lenders69

Total Loans3,992

Median Rate Spread0.26%

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Rank	Lender	Overall	Pricing	Pull Through	Place	Avg Fees	Rate Spread	# of Loans
1	STATE EMPLOYEES'Credit Union	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	Exceptional	$2,073Fees	0.675%Below	579
2	Truist BankBank	Strong	Strong	Strong	Strong	$1,778Fees	0.243%Above	130
3	First-Citizens Bank & Trust CompanyBank	Strong	Strong	Strong	Strong	$1,453Fees	0.029%Above	68
4	NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNIONCredit Union	Strong	Exceptional	Sound	Sound	$1,087Fees	0.477%Below	31
5	UNITED WHOLESALE MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Exceptional	Strong	$2,938Fees	0.175%Above	205
6	Wells Fargo Bank, National AssociationBank	Strong	Strong	Sound	Strong	$2,211Fees	0.474%Above	53
7	Bank of America, National AssociationBank	Strong	Strong	Strong	Sound	$1,931Fees	0.028%Below	28
8	Fifth Third Bank, National AssociationBank	Strong	Strong	Strong	Sound	$1,112Fees	0.084%Above	21
9	ROCKET MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Exceptional	$3,906Fees	0.454%Above	445
10	ATLANTIC BAY MORTGAGE GROUP, L.L.C.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Exceptional	$3,861Fees	0.520%Above	281
11	INSPIRE HOME LOANS INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Strong	Strong	$2,083Fees	0.525%Above	61
12	LOANDEPOT.COM, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Strong	Strong	$3,514Fees	0.299%Above	61
13	CROSSCOUNTRY MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Strong	Exceptional	$3,683Fees	0.566%Above	241
14	MOVEMENT MORTGAGE, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	$2,438Fees	0.346%Above	145
15	FAIRWAY INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE CORPORATIONIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	$3,167Fees	0.449%Above	91
16	Alcova Mortgage LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	$2,605Fees	0.515%Above	59
17	GUILD MORTGAGE COMPANY LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	$3,125Fees	0.642%Above	59
18	Renasant BankBank	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	$1,780Fees	0.494%Above	42
19	FREEDOM MORTGAGE CORPORATIONIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Strong	Sound	$2,080Fees	0.630%Above	42
20	PENNYMAC LOAN SERVICES, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Strong	Sound	$3,156Fees	0.003%Above	35
21	MORTGAGE ASSURANCE, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Strong	Sound	$2,026Fees	0.339%Above	27
22	First National Bank of PennsylvaniaBank	Strong	Sound	Strong	Sound	$1,505Fees	0.336%Above	23
23	American Security Mortgage Corp.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	Strong	Sound	$1,961Fees	0.409%Above	23
24	First Horizon BankBank	Strong	Sound	Strong	Sound	$1,426Fees	0.124%Above	22
25	CARDINAL FINANCIAL COMPANY, LIMITED PARTNERSHIPIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Sound	$1,165Fees	0.479%Above	43
26	Primis Mortgage CompanyIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Acceptable	Strong	Strong	$3,797Fees	0.382%Above	41
27	Peoples BankBank	Strong	Sound	Acceptable	Strong	$1,902Fees	0.007%Below	34
28	LOWER, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Sound	Acceptable	Strong	Sound	$2,199Fees	0.360%Above	29
29	NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Sound	Acceptable	Strong	Sound	$2,147Fees	0.534%Above	28
30	HIGHLANDS RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE, LTD.Independent Mortgage Company	Sound	Mediocre	Strong	Strong	$3,244Fees	0.602%Above	84
31	NEW AMERICAN FUNDING, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Sound	Acceptable	Sound	Sound	$3,914Fees	0.748%Above	30
32	AgFirst Farm Credit BankIndependent Mortgage Company	Sound	Mediocre	Sound	Strong	$3,658Fees	0.594%Above	40

How We Rank Lenders

Our rankings use geometric mean scoring across equally-weighted categories. This rewards lenders who perform consistently well across all metrics, not just excel in one area.

Our Point System (Max 30 Points)

Pricing

Rate and fee competitiveness (33%)

Pull Through

Reliability in closing loans (33%)

Place

Local market expertise (33%)

Data Integrity & Updates

Data is updated quarterly based on the latest HMDA filings and proprietary SafeRate analysis. All metrics are calculated using standardized methodologies to ensure fair comparison across lenders.