loanDepot, the Irvine, California mortgage lender, and Davidson Homes, the Huntsville, Alabama builder ranked No. 43 on the 2026 Builder 100, announced Davidson Mortgage on 10 November 2026, a joint venture that will offer loans to buyers of Davidson homes in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and Arizona. Fintechbits’ archive shows loanDepot opened its digital HELOC to homeowners in 47 states on 29 October 2026, so the Davidson Mortgage venture is its second push for new distribution in under two weeks, this time aimed at buyers of new homes in six states. No ownership split or volume target was disclosed.

What Davidson Mortgage will do

According to the loanDepot release, Davidson Mortgage combines loanDepot’s lending platform and loan options with Davidson Homes’ sales process, so buyers can move from purchase contract to mortgage closing with one connected team. The venture will serve the six states where Davidson builds.

loanDepot describes the deal as another step in growing its core mortgage business through joint ventures, distributed retail and direct lending. It says it has funded $600 billion of loans directly to consumers since launching in 2010 and is licensed in all 50 states.

Dan Pena, loanDepot’s president of partnership lending, said the venture pairs loanDepot’s platform with Davidson’s “customer-first approach to deliver a smooth financing experience homebuyers can trust”. Brandon Jones, Davidson Homes’ chief executive, said buyers would get “a frictionless and personal financing experience”.

Davidson Homes was founded in 2009, is privately held and builds across the Southeast and Southwest. Builder-owned and builder-partnered mortgage operations are common among large builders, because they help close sales and capture a share of the lending profit.

How the joint venture fits loanDepot

Purchase loans tied to new homes are a steady source of volume when refinancing is weak, and they arrive with a buyer already committed to a property. For loanDepot, a joint venture gives it a share of that flow without building a sales force inside each community.

The Davidson Mortgage deal follows the HELOC expansion Fintechbits covered on 29 October, when loanDepot opened its digital home equity line to 47 states with credit scores from 600 and lines of $25,000 to $750,000. One product targets existing owners, the other new buyers. Together they show a lender trying to grow without waiting for rates to fall far enough to spark another refinance boom.

loanDepot has used joint ventures before as part of what it calls a multi-channel platform, alongside distributed retail loan officers and direct-to-consumer lending. The approach spreads origination across several sources, so a slowdown in one channel does not stall the whole business. For a lender that cut costs sharply after the 2021 boom ended, cheaper sources of purchase volume are worth more than headline growth.

Fintechbits analysis

Why Davidson Mortgage Matters for loanDepot’s Mix

Davidson Mortgage is small on its own, but it addresses loanDepot’s main weakness: dependence on refinance waves. Builder joint ventures give lenders purchase volume that is less sensitive to rate swings, because buyers of new homes need a loan regardless of whether rates have fallen.

The risk is regulatory and reputational. Joint ventures between builders and lenders are watched under US rules on referral fees and affiliated business arrangements, and buyers must be free to choose another lender. Incentives that steer buyers into the venture’s loans tend to attract scrutiny.

The six states are also among the busiest for new construction, which gives the venture volume potential if housing demand holds. Fintechbits has covered other shifts in mortgage operations, including Gateway Mortgage’s servicing move to ICE.

Frequently asked questions

What is Davidson Mortgage?

Davidson Mortgage is a joint venture between loanDepot and Davidson Homes, announced on 10 November 2026, that will provide mortgages to buyers of Davidson homes in six states.

Which states does Davidson Mortgage cover?

It will serve homebuyers in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and Arizona, the markets where Davidson Homes builds.

Who is Davidson Homes?

Davidson Homes is a privately held builder headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, founded in 2009 and ranked No. 43 on the 2026 Builder 100 list.

What to Watch Next

The detail to watch is how loanDepot reports joint venture volume in its next quarterly results. If it starts breaking out builder and partnership lending, investors will be able to see whether Davidson Mortgage and similar ventures are moving its mix toward purchase loans.