South Carolina-based Movement Mortgage has acquired the brokerage Superior Rate Mortgage of New England to expand operations in the region, the company announced Wednesday. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The acquisition is another step to boost its sales amid shrinking loan origination volumes. The company announced new hires in the sales executive team in early August.
With the deal, Movement adds the brokerage’s more than $400 million in annual sales volume and 48 employees, including loans officers, support staff and executive members, to serve homebuyers and real estate agents in the Greater Boston Area.
Founded in 2014, Massachusetts-based Superior Rate Mortgage reached $412 million in sales volume in 2021.
Superior’s leader Matt Rasetta, who will be Movement’s market leader, said “the competitive products and pricing, plus unparalleled operational speed and support, were key components of our attraction to Movement,” according to a news release.
Casey Crawford, a former pro football player, founded distributed retail nonbank Movement Mortgage in 2008, with a network of loan officers in more than 650 branches and more than 4,000 employees.
The company was first established in the New England region in Rhode Island. Before the deal with Superior Rate Mortgage, Movement employed 200 individuals and produced an annual volume of $1.6 billion in the area, the company said.
Movement originated $13.7 billion in the first half of 2022, down 17% compared to the same period in 2021, according to data from Inside Mortgage Finance. In March, the lender laid off around 170 employees, multiple company sources told HousingWire.
To boost its sales team, Movement in August named the 34-year veteran Sarah Middleton to the new position of chief growth officer to attract, onboard and develop sales leaders. Meanwhile, Kevin McGovern was named the director of coaching, responsible for creating a coaching platform.
