California’s FHA denial rate in 2025 was 21.0% across 83,299 decisioned applications — ranking #35 of 52 states. Among high-volume lenders, the lowest observed denial rate was Ocmbc, Inc. at 4.3%; the highest was Lakeview Loan Servicing, LLC at 59.7%. The institutional spread inside California is 13.9×: the same FHA application faces a 4.3% observed denial rate at one high-volume door and 59.7% at another — two real endpoints of the federal record, same state, same program. Source: complete CFPB HMDA 2025 federal record.
Cells require 100+ decisioned applications. Sorted softest first. Observed rates — not endorsements.
| Lender | California FHA apps | Denial rate |
|---|---|---|
| Ocmbc, Inc. | 2,730 | 4.3% |
| Crosscountry Mortgage, LLC | 1,256 | 4.3% |
| Finance Of America Reverse LLC | 1,263 | 8.7% |
| Lennar Mortgage, LLC | 1,615 | 12.6% |
| Dhi Mortgage Company, Ltd. | 1,516 | 12.6% |
| Freedom Mortgage Corporation | 2,264 | 17.7% |
| Mutual Of Omaha Mortgage | 1,287 | 19.2% |
| United Wholesale Mortgage | 13,985 | 21.4% |
| Pennymac Loan Services LLC | 2,121 | 22.3% |
| Kind Lending, LLC | 2,236 | 24.3% |
| New American Funding, LLC. | 1,230 | 26.0% |
| Loandepot.Com LLC | 2,244 | 27.3% |
| Rocket Mortgage | 5,907 | 30.1% |
| Newrez LLC | 1,658 | 51.7% |
| Lakeview Loan Servicing, LLC | 2,539 | 59.7% |
Applications under $150K were denied 44.7% of the time versus 19.8% for loans of $250K+ — a 2.3× penalty on the smallest loans. National context: the small-loan penalty.
The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act requires every U.S. mortgage lender to report every application — outcome, amount, and denial reason — to federal regulators annually. It is government-verified, covers all lenders equally, and cannot be gamed. These tables are processed directly from that record.
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