AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 7, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — FirstClose™, a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for home equity and mortgage lenders nationwide, today released the results of an independent study by MarketWise Advisors, LLC, examining the value of improvements in operational readiness and execution for home equity lenders. Participating lenders reported an average financial and operational impact of $753.04 per loan, a 7.99x return, across the core and extended capabilities MarketWise modeled.
Image caption: FirstClose logo.
MarketWise Advisors independently surveyed 71 respondents across 54 participating lenders and modeled the results using FirstClose’s Order Management Services and XpressEquity point-of-sale (POS) platforms. Core capabilities accounted for $478.06 of the average per-loan impact, and extended capabilities added $274.99, according to the study.
Participating lenders also reported saving 33.74 minutes of manual work per loan on order management functions alone, equivalent to 448 hours saved per participating institution. Loan cycle time fell by days, and error-affected loans decreased by 31%. Depository lenders take about 40 days on average to move a home equity loan from application to closing, compared with about 15 days at nonbank lenders. That gap illustrates why operational execution, not borrower demand, has become the constraint on converting home equity interest into closed loans.
“Home equity demand isn’t the issue. What separates lenders right now is execution,” said Tedd Smith, CEO of FirstClose. “This study puts a number on something we hear from lenders constantly. The institutions protecting and growing their share are the ones treating execution as a competitive advantage instead of back-office overhead.”
Nonbank lenders grew their share of subordinate-lien originations from 8% to 29% between 2022 and 2025, while the combined share held by banks and credit unions fell from 85% to 66%. Lenders using FirstClose’s core and extended capabilities together reported handling 21.49% more loan volume without adding staff.
“The institutions in this study weren’t competing on rate or on credit box. They were competing on deploying the right process to get a loan through the pipeline,” said Jordan Brown, founding principal and CEO of MarketWise Advisors. “Closing ratio, cycle time and error rates are operational levers, and this study measures what moving them is actually worth.”
DISCLAIMER: The results of this study are indicative of the average reported result across the 2026 FirstClose client base in an independent ROI study conducted by MarketWise Advisors, LLC. It represents the mean level of performance reported across a representative sample of FirstClose clients. The data is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. Neither MarketWise nor FirstClose provides any warranty or representation as to accuracy or future performance. Actual performance may materially differ based on individual factors. All rights reserved.
ABOUT FIRSTCLOSE
Headquartered in Austin, Texas, FirstClose, Inc. provides fintech solutions to home equity and mortgage lenders nationwide. The company’s mission is to increase profitability and reduce costs for mortgage lenders. FirstClose makes this possible through offering systems and relationships that enable lenders to assist their borrowers more effectively, reduce closing costs and ultimately shorten closing times. For more information, visit https://www.firstclose.com/.
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MEDIA ONLY CONTACT:
(not for print or online)
Lindsey Neal
Depth for FirstClose
(404) 549-9282
lindsey@depthpr.com
News Source: FirstClose
