Compass-Rate merger to create ‘powerhouse lending platform’
The combined mortgage venture, which will operate under the OriginPoint brand, said it is expected to become a top national retail lender in the years ahead.
Compass International Holdings and Rate announced on Nov. 3 that they will merge their mortgage joint ventures — Guaranteed Rate Affinity and OriginPoint — under the OriginPoint brand.
HousingWire was first to report the news.
A 'simpler, more seamless and connected experience' for buyers: Compass Chairman and CEO Robert Reffkin said the move will help the brokerage giant and OriginPoint service clients even better than they have in the past.
"We can connect more great real estate professionals with more great loan officers to create a simpler, more seamless and connected experience for homebuyers," Reffkin said in a statement.
An expected move: Following Compass' merger with Anywhere, the combination of the mortgage-focused ventures was largely expected given that Anywhere and Rate had teamed up to launch Guaranteed Rate Affinity in 2017.
Rate and Compass also partnered in 2021 to launch OriginPoint. The fintech company likewise worked with @properties to launch Proper Rate in 2020, which ultimately folded into Compass via its acquisition of @properties.
Becoming a top lender: Under the OriginPoint brand, the combined companies will become a top 10 national retail mortgage lender based on calculations of combined fiscal year 2026 year-to-date actual and forecasted production volume from Guaranteed Rate Affinity and OriginPoint compared to their peers' volumes, as reported in Scotsman Guide's 2026 Top Retail Lenders rankings, according to a news release.
The sheer number of 80,000-plus agents now under Compass International Holdings' owned-brokerage network combined with their sales volume creates the potential for some significant business under the newly merged company. Just among the Coldwell Banker Realty and Compass brands alone, the firms represent over 200,000 buy-side purchase transactions that amount to more than $200 billion in purchase volume, the company said.
Strengthening mortgage ties: Victor Ciardelli, founder and CEO of Rate, said the partnership is a "tremendous opportunity" for loan officers. The company will "recruit like crazy with plans to strategically onboard hundreds of high-performing mortgage originators across the country to serve the increased volume demands from our 80,000+ real estate partners" in a sign of what's to come, Ciardelli said.
The move follows another development announced earlier this year, when Compass partnered with Redfin to enable its "Coming Soon" listings to be visible on the portal. With that partnership, Compass clients also receive a 1-percentage-point rate reduction during the first year of their loan from Rocket or a lender credit of up to $6,000.