Finding one’s dream home can be a tedious, lengthy process. Financing it can feel even more cumbersome for many homebuyers. There are a lot of options on the table for mortgage applicants, and sometimes comparing interest rates and conditions can feel overwhelming, particularly for first-time homebuyers. Interestingly, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau pointed out that nearly half of applicants don’t shop around for their mortgage. And that could be to their detriment.
With mortgage rates down in the US, many homebuyers are looking locally to their community banks to finance their new, potentially life-changing purchase. In the spirit of the go local movement, new data from Sageworks Bank Information peeked in on 10 cities to see which community banks were making an impact on local mortgage lending. The cities were chosen randomly, but are listed below in alphabetical order. For each city, highlighted is the top community bank by mortgage volume, along with their residential loan figure.
• Charlotte, North Carolina – Park Sterling Bank ($263 million)
• Cleveland, Ohio – First Federal Savings and Loan Association ($955 million)
• Dallas, Texas – PlainsCapital Bank ($1.89 billion)
• Denver, Colorado – Colorado Federal Savings Bank ($558 million)
• Detroit, Michigan – Flagstar Bank ($4.65 billion)
• Indianapolis, Indiana – First Internet Bank of Indiana ($249 million)
• Hartford, Connecticut – United Bank ($1.19 billion)
• Nashville, Tennessee – Pinnacle Bank ($432 million)
• Phoenix, Arizona – Arizona Bank & Trust ($102 million)
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Dollar Bank ($3.97 billion)
