Is Redwood Trust Inc An Expensive Mortgage Lender?

We compare mortgage interest rate and loan related closing costs at Redwood Trust Inc with other lenders for mortgages with similar borrower characteristics:

Interest Rate: higher than average (+0.11%)
Loan Related Closing Costs: higher than average (+$619)
Assessment: this lender tends to be a expensive lender.

This scoreboard is based on data reported to FFIEC. In the data, Redwood Trust Inc originated 574 mortgages, a national market share of 0.0%. It was most active in MT (0.0% market share), WA (0.0% market share), and CA (0.0% market share).

On average, Redwood Trust Inc’s interest rates were higher than those of comparable mortgages at other lenders (+0.11%).1The comparable mortgages control for Redwood Trust Inc’s distribution of loan term (e.g. 30 year vs 15 year), loan-to-value (LTV), debt-to-income (DTI), loan amount, loan program (e.g. Conforming/FHA), loan purpose (e.g. purchase/refinance), and county. Interest rate and loan related closing costs are estimated based on fixed rate mortgages only, whereas market shares include all purchase or refinance mortgages. Its average total loan related closing cost was $7164, which was higher than those of comparable mortgages at $6545, with a difference of +$619. Overall, we estimate that Redwood Trust Inc tends to be an expensive lender, with a cost-adjusted-rate difference of +0.12% compared to comparable mortgages at other lenders.2Cost adjusted rates were computed based on each percent of the loan amount in loan related closing costs being worth 1/6 of a percentage point in interest rate. Therefore, we recommend comparing your rate and fees with at least a few other lenders before signing with Redwood Trust Inc.

Redwood Trust Inc originated Conforming and Jumbo mortgages for new home purchases. It also originated Jumbo mortgages for refinances. We breakdown its interest rate and total loan related closing cost on by each of the mortgage types it originated below:

Home Purchase Mortgages from Redwood Trust Inc compared to other lenders

ConformingJumbo
Interest Rate Difference-0.05%+0.12%
Loan related Closing Cost Difference+$935+$498
Cost Adjusted Rate Difference-0.02%+0.13%

Based on the table above, Redwood Trust Inc is similar to other lenders for Conforming purchase mortgages. It is more expensive than other lenders for Jumbo purchase mortgages.

Mortgage Refinancing from Redwood Trust Inc compared to other lenders

Jumbo
Interest Rate Difference+0.13%
Loan Related Closing Cost Difference+$805
Cost Adjusted Rate Difference+0.14%

Based on the table above, Redwood Trust Inc is more expensive than other lenders for Jumbo mortgage refinance.

Other information about Redwood Trust Inc:

Regulator: United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 
Registered city and state: Mill Valley, CA, 94941

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Footnotes

Footnotes
1The comparable mortgages control for Redwood Trust Inc’s distribution of loan term (e.g. 30 year vs 15 year), loan-to-value (LTV), debt-to-income (DTI), loan amount, loan program (e.g. Conforming/FHA), loan purpose (e.g. purchase/refinance), and county. Interest rate and loan related closing costs are estimated based on fixed rate mortgages only, whereas market shares include all purchase or refinance mortgages.
2Cost adjusted rates were computed based on each percent of the loan amount in loan related closing costs being worth 1/6 of a percentage point in interest rate.