Lower interest rates are making for a very good year at Quicken Loans.
The mortgage lender has shattered its record for most home loans by volume, originating $140 billion in mortgages in 2019, with re-financement activity expected to be up as well, the Free Press reports.
The previous record was $96 billion in mortgages in 2016.
The news is good for downtown Detroit:
[The firm's] employee count is up about 3,500 people year-over-year. The majority of those new hires happened in Detroit, [said Bob Walters, Quicken's president and chief operating officer.]
"It’s been a huge influx and obviously great for us and great for the city," he said.
Walters said that Quicken's total headcount is only slightly higher than when it hit its previous mortgage volume record three years ago. Quicken says it employs about 18,000 nationwide, more than 15,000 in Detroit.
