Best mortgage lenders of October 2026

Citibank rate beats the competition about 81% of the time. Even when it doesn’t have the lowest rate, the average excess cost over eight years (interest, points and fees included) comes to a minimal 3.4% of the loan amount, one of the smaller gaps on this list. Few lenders here price more competitively.

Citibank received about three complaints per 1,000 loan originations during the period we researched — most of our lenders have a far lower rate. Of those complaints, about 23% ended in relief for the borrower, which helped to improve its star rating. That's a better track record than a flat complaint count alone would suggest — but it still doesn't guarantee you'll get the resolution you want if something goes wrong. 

This might be Citi's weak spot. Only about 79% of its approved applications make it to closing — one of the lowest rates among the lenders on this list. Loans fall through for plenty of reasons unrelated to the lender, and the data doesn’t say why these didn’t close, but it's still worth factoring in, especially if your timeline is tight. While Citi doesn’t offer a closing guarantee, it gives existing customers $500 off closing costs when they apply for a mortgage. 

Citibank’s data showed applicants 62 and older may be denied more often than the lender’s own lending patterns would predict, or that Citi lends to them at lower volumes than similar lenders do. The data doesn’t include credit scores, though, which could explain some of the gap.

Citibank lends nationwide and has more than 600 branches across a handful of states.

On Bankrate, First Federal's advertised rate beats about 80.9% of the market, and it would cost roughly 1.91% of your loan amount over eight years compared with the lowest offer available. The story holds up across its full lending history: it still beats peers' rates 71.9% of the time, with a comparable average excess cost of 6.4%. This means that First Federal’s pricing edge is consistent, regardless of where you find it.

First Federal has no CFPB complaints about its origination practices on record, earning it a 5-star rating for complaints.

First Federal scores highly for closing likelihood: 99.4% of its approved loans close, the best rate on this list by a wide margin. Among the lenders on this list, First Federal offers the strongest indication that an approved loan will make it to closing.

First Federal’s data shows that applicants 62 and older may have been turned down at a higher rate than the lender’s own lending patterns would predict, or received loans less often than they did from similar lenders. The data doesn’t say whether these applicants were denied because of their credit scores, so the reason for the difference is unclear.

First Federal is available online nationwide with limited physical locations, mostly in northern Florida.

On Bankrate, loanDepot's advertised rate beats about 80.3% of the market, and choosing it over the cheapest offer only costs about 2.01% of your loan amount over eight years — solid, but perhaps not the most competitive on the list, as reflected in its 4-star rating for rate competitiveness. Its everyday rate away from Bankrate is similar: a 63.5% beat rate across a massive sample of nearly 48,000 loans nationwide, with a 6.3% average excess cost.

Complaints are loanDepot's weak point. It logs about 1.5 origination complaints per 1,000 loans, and almost none were resolved with relief for the borrower. It also logged 116 servicing complaints over the same period — more than its origination complaint count — so the friction doesn't necessarily end once your loan closes. If something goes wrong, don't expect an easy fix, whether the issue comes up before or after closing.

About 93% of loanDepot's approved loans close, according to our research, a rate that’s about average among the lenders on this list. If yours does close, it may move fast: the company advertises closing 50% faster than the industry average.

loanDepot’s data suggests that applicants 62 and older were denied more frequently than the lender’s overall lending patterns would predict, or were approved less often than at comparable lenders. Since the data doesn’t indicate whether credit scores played a role in those denials, the cause of the gap is unclear.

LoanDepot is available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. It operates retail branches nationwide, but many people access it online.

If you compare rates through Bankrate, Mutual of Omaha beats about 79.6% of comparable mortgages, and choosing it over the very cheapest option on the table costs 2.15% more of the loan amount, on average, over the first eight years. Across all of its borrowers, though, the lender earns just 3 out of 5 stars overall for its pricing.

Mutual of Omaha had about 1.5 CFPB complaints for every 1,000 loan originations during the period we studied. Notably, none of these complaints received any relief from the company.

About 91% of Mutual of Omaha's approved loans close, about the average for the lenders we studied. A loan can fail to close for many reasons, but the higher the closing rate means fewer of them do.

Mutual of Omaha’s data shows that applicants 62 and older were denied at about the rate the lender's overall lending patterns would predict, and its approval volume for these applicants was also in line with comparable lenders' volume.

Mutual of Omaha is licensed in 49 states plus Washington, D.C. It does not originate mortgages in New York. If you want in-person support, this lender has close to 70 branch locations across the country.

NBKC’s rates are competitive on and off Bankrate’s marketplace. On Bankrate, its advertised rate is lower than about 83.9% of competitors’ rates; its everyday public rate is lower than 74.4% of competitors’ rates nationwide. At many lenders, the gap between those two numbers is wider.

NBKC has no CFPB complaints on record regarding its loan originations. It’s not the only lender on our list with this distinction, but it still suggests the bank has many satisfied customers.

NBKC's loans have a low likelihood of closing — only about 90% of approved loans actually reach the closing table, the third-lowest rate on this list. But to offset the risk, NBKC offers a guarantee: If an eligible loan doesn't close on time, NBKC pays both you and the seller $2,500.

NBKC’s data shows that the lender has either turned down applicants 62 and older more often than its own lending patterns would predict, or approved fewer of them than similar lenders did. Credit scores aren’t part of the data, though, so we can’t tell whether they explain the pattern.

NBKCs branches are restricted to the Kansas City area, but it’s available nationwide online.

Northpointe's Bankrate pricing is the weakest of any 5-star lender on this list: its advertised rate runs about 0.31 percentage points above the cheapest offer on the table, and it's the single cheapest option just 1.8% of the time. Off Bankrate, the pattern is similar — only 52.6% of its loans beat competitor rates, good for a 3-star Overall Rating on pricing. The niche loan products are the reason to call Northpointe, not the rate.

Northpointe Bank scores a 5 for CFPB complaint history, as it has no complaints on record for its originations.

About 92% of Northpointe’s approved loans end up closing, solidly in the middle of the pack. For some loan types, Northpointe offers a program called True Approval, which is a heftier version of preapproval that signs off on the loan pending an appraisal and title search. This can potentially speed up the closing process.

Northpointe Bank’s denial rate for applicants 62 and older came back outside the expected range based on its own lending patterns, and its lending volume to this group, compared with similar lenders, did as well. Because credit scores aren't included in the data, we can't say whether they drove the gap or how they might have affected the results.

Northpointe is a Michigan-based bank with a handful of loan offices in other states, but it lends nationwide online.

Sage's rate beats competitors about 86.2% of the time, and across all its loans, the average excess cost comes to about 4.4% of the loan value over eight years. It also earns a 5 for its rates on Bankrate.

Sage had no CFPB complaints for its originations in the period we studied. This doesn’t mean you won’t have a bad experience with Sage, but it does suggest that many borrowers have had good experiences.

One catch with Sage is its poor closing record. Only about 64% of its approved loans actually close, by far the lowest rate of any lender on the list. The data doesn’t say why approved loans fell through, and there are plenty of reasons a loan can stall. Sage does offer a $500 lender credit at closing for completing a verified pre-approval, plus a $500 close-on-time guarantee, which may reassure some borrowers.

Sage's data shows that both of the measures we track for applicants 62 and older fell outside the expected range: the lender denied them more often than its own lending patterns would predict, and it lent less to this group than similar lenders did. Because the data leaves out credit scores, we can’t tell what role, if any, they played.

Sage Home Loans is licensed to operate in all states except New York, but it’s online only and doesn’t have any branches.

Tomo Mortgage’s Bankrate pricing is the most competitive of any lender on this list: Its advertised rate runs only about 0.11 percentage points above the cheapest offer on the table (the tightest gap here). In fact, Tomo is the cheapest option 37.8% of the time. And off Bankrate, its pricing is still sharp — it beats competitors 73.9% of the time. This lender also offers a price-match guarantee against a competing Loan Estimate and doesn’t charge an origination fee.

Tomo may be newer and smaller than many of the other lenders on this list, but its pricing is genuinely the best in the lineup.

Tomo Mortgage earns a 5 for CFPB complaint history, with no complaints about its originations on record.

Tomo’s data shows that one of the two measures we track for applicants 62 and older fell outside the expected range. Either the lender denied them more often than its own patterns would predict, or it lent to them at a lower volume than similar lenders. However, the data doesn’t capture credit scores, so we can't rule them out as a factor.

Tomo lands in the medium range for risk. One of the two measures we track for applicants 62 and older fell outside the expected range — either the lender denied them more often than its own patterns would predict, or it lent to them at a lower volume than similar lenders. Credit scores aren't captured in the data, so we can't rule them out as a factor. That said, it’s still worth knowing if you’re 62 or older.

Tomo provides mortgages in 40 states and Washington, D.C. It’s not yet available in Delaware, Hawaii, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont or West Virginia. As a digital-only lender, Tomo doesn’t operate any in-person locations.