From sea to shining sea, the 2022 Top Originators worked hard to put clients in their dream homes. Scotsman Guide received submissions for the 2021 production year from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, and while thousands of originators entered the rankings, only 52 could be declared State Champions.
Each state is unique, from the tundra of Alaska to the white sands of Florida. And as every originator knows, each borrower is unique in their financing needs. The spectrum of loan scenarios across the nation is massive, but Scotsman Guide’s state champs have it covered.
Popular coastal states with more expensive homes and higher incomes tend to result in higher loan volumes, and we often feature originators from these states throughout the year in this magazine. For this month’s feature, however, Scotsman Guide chose to interview eight impressive originators from states less traveled. In our inaugural Featured State Champions profiles, we explore how business (and life) works in these states across the Midwest, South and New England.
In New Hampshire and Mississippi, our state champions finance beautiful homes on up-and-coming stretches of coastline. The New Hampshire seacoast is less than an hour outside of Boston and offers a classic New England beach experience without the crowds of Massachusetts or Maine. And Mississippi’s southern coast offers white sand beaches and the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, with a lower cost of living and the charm of Southern hospitality. Both coastlines are much smaller than those of their neighboring states, making them underrated jewels in their respective regions.
Our inland state champions are experts in their local markets, and they sing the praises of the cities where they live, work and play. In Kansas City, Kansas, homes are affordable, the schools are great, big-city amenities are everywhere, and the city is developing trendy pockets due to young workers who are moving in. And in Jackson, Wyoming — the hottest destination in the country for the wealthy — the housing market has exploded over the past few years, changing the city (and the mortgage origination game) dramatically. Read more stories from our Featured State Champions here.
This is our last rankings feature that will celebrate the massive year that was 2021. This year was undoubtedly tough and our rankings will look quite different next year. But ups and downs are part of the job, and we hope that each of our readers are proud of the work they’ve done to help others build wealth by investing in homes.
We’ll be taking a break from the rankings features for the next couple of months, but for everyone, it’s time to gear up for next year’s submission period. On Jan. 1, 2023, the entry period will open on ScotsmanGuide.com for the 2023 Top Originators rankings, which will inform all of the rankings features we run next year.
The new rankings will start to appear in April. Until then, have a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones and a prosperous start to your new year.
South, Midwest states remain cheapest to live in
Cost-of-living measurements for each state stayed relatively flat between the second quarters of 2021 and 2022, with a few notable changes. Northeast and West Coast states remained the most expensive areas to live.
The Composite Cost of Living Index from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (which compiles metro- and city-level data from The Council for Community and Economic Research) compares the cost of living within each state to the national average index score of 100. Basic living expenses have undoubtedly increased in 2022 amid historic inflation. The data reflects that inflation appears to have spread evenly across the U.S. When measuring which states are most expensive, the rankings were similar to last year’s, with a few exceptions.
Hawaii remained the most expensive state with an index score of 189.9, nearly double the average cost of living. The District of Columbia, Massachusetts, California and New York followed. The most affordable state in Q2 2022 was Mississippi (84.9), followed by Oklahoma, Kansas, Alabama and Georgia.
The index also measures housing costs separately, with monthly mortgage payments carrying 70% of the weight in the housing index. In Q2 2022, the cheapest housing was in West Virginia, with a score of 67.8. It was followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma and Kansas. Unsurprisingly, the most expensive housing was in Hawaii, with a whopping score of 312.8. Washington, D.C., Massachusetts and California were next on the list.
