Is Carolina Financial Corporation An Expensive Mortgage Lender?

We compare mortgage interest rate and loan related closing costs at Carolina Financial Corporation with other lenders for mortgages with similar borrower characteristics:

Interest Rate: higher than average (+0.28%)
Loan Related Closing Costs: similar to average (+$231)
Assessment: this lender tends to be a expensive lender.

This scoreboard is based on data reported to FFIEC. In the data, Carolina Financial Corporation originated 792 mortgages, a national market share of 0.0%. It was most active in SC (0.5% market share), NC (0.1% market share), and GA (0.0% market share).

On average, Carolina Financial Corporation’s interest rates were higher than those of comparable mortgages at other lenders (+0.28%).1The comparable mortgages control for Carolina Financial Corporation’s distribution of loan term (e.g. 30 year vs 15 year), loan-to-value (LTV), debt-to-income (DTI), loan amount, loan program (e.g. Conforming/FHA), loan purpose (e.g. purchase/refinance), and county. Interest rate and loan related closing costs are estimated based on fixed rate mortgages only, whereas market shares include all purchase or refinance mortgages. Its average total loan related closing cost was $3412, which was similar to those of comparable mortgages at $3181, with a difference of +$231. Overall, we estimate that Carolina Financial Corporation tends to be an expensive lender, with a cost-adjusted-rate difference of +0.31% compared to comparable mortgages at other lenders.2Cost adjusted rates were computed based on each percent of the loan amount in loan related closing costs being worth 1/6 of a percentage point in interest rate. Therefore, we recommend comparing your rate and fees with at least a few other lenders before signing with Carolina Financial Corporation.

Carolina Financial Corporation originated Conforming mortgages for new home purchases. We breakdown its interest rate and total loan related closing cost on by each of the mortgage types it originated below:

Home Purchase Mortgages from Carolina Financial Corporation compared to other lenders

Conforming
Interest Rate Difference+0.28%
Loan related Closing Cost Difference+$231
Cost Adjusted Rate Difference+0.31%

Based on the table above, Carolina Financial Corporation is more expensive than other lenders for Conforming purchase mortgages.

Other information about Carolina Financial Corporation:

Regulator: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) 
Top holder: CAROLINA FINANCIAL CORPORATION
Registered city and state: Charleston, SC, 29401

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Footnotes

Footnotes
1The comparable mortgages control for Carolina Financial Corporation’s distribution of loan term (e.g. 30 year vs 15 year), loan-to-value (LTV), debt-to-income (DTI), loan amount, loan program (e.g. Conforming/FHA), loan purpose (e.g. purchase/refinance), and county. Interest rate and loan related closing costs are estimated based on fixed rate mortgages only, whereas market shares include all purchase or refinance mortgages.
2Cost adjusted rates were computed based on each percent of the loan amount in loan related closing costs being worth 1/6 of a percentage point in interest rate.