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Mortgage production strain shows up in workload before loan output
From 2021 to 2025, the cost to originate a loan rose about 28%, while loans closed per production employee per month fell.
HousingWire argues that in commission-based lending and residential real estate, operational workload can signal strain before headline production metrics move.
According to the outlet, the cost to originate a loan increased from $8,664 in 2021 to $11,094 in 2025, about 28%, while loans closed per production employee per month fell from 2.5 in 2021 to 1.4 in 2022.
On the agent side, HousingWire cites NAR’s 2026 Member Profile showing the typical agent completed nine transaction sides in 2025, down from twelve in 2022, while median hours worked remained at 35 per week.
The article’s central point is that boards and dashboards can misread performance when effort per file rises, because the hours and workload pressures may not be visible in production output alone.