A growing number of dual-licensed professionals is changing where the mortgage industry finds its next generation of loan originators.
As mortgage rates remain elevated and transaction volumes stay below their pandemic peaks, real estate agents are looking for ways to capture more revenue from every deal. One strategy gaining traction: obtaining a mortgage loan originator license. According to Jesse Kennedy, Vice President and Director of Operations at 24hourEDU, a mortgage pre-licensing education provider, real estate agents pursuing mortgage credentials have become a visible and growing segment of the company’s student population – not a niche group, but a pattern large enough to reshape how the industry thinks about where new originators come from.
Expanding the Model
Kennedy describes the motivation behind this trend as client-driven. Agents who already hold active real estate licenses are pursuing mortgage origination credentials to deepen their service offering. The logic is straightforward: an agent who can also originate the loan on a transaction captures more of the deal and provides a more integrated experience for the buyer.
“We’re seeing an awful lot of real estate agents looking to add on mortgage licensing so they can help their clients further,” Kennedy says.
This is not a casual credential add-on. Obtaining a mortgage loan originator license requires completing a 20-hour national pre-licensing course, passing the SAFE MLO national exam, and securing a sponsoring employer to activate the license. Agents pursuing this path are making a deliberate investment – and Kennedy says the enrollment numbers suggest it is happening at a meaningful scale.
For the mortgage industry, the implications go beyond headcount. These candidates arrive with existing client relationships, transactional experience, and a working understanding of how real estate deals are structured. That profile differs sharply from that of a career changer entering the field without industry context.
Where It’s Growing
Kennedy says the states generating the highest enrollment volumes are Florida, Texas, and California – markets defined by high population density, active transaction volumes, and large concentrations of licensed real estate professionals. The overlap is not coincidental.
“The biggest states where we’re seeing the most movement are the ones with the higher population bases,” Kennedy says. “Florida, Texas, California – those are the states that are having the most students enroll.”
These are also markets where brokerage competition is intense, and agents face consistent pressure to differentiate their services and increase per-transaction revenue. Adding mortgage origination capability addresses both pressures at once. An agent who can handle both sides of a transaction is harder to displace and potentially more valuable to a client than one who can only manage the listing or purchase side.
The concentration in these three states may also reflect where brokerages are most actively encouraging dual licensing among their agents. If brokerage leadership is promoting mortgage licensing as a growth strategy, enrollment would naturally cluster in markets where those firms have the largest footprints. And that is where a broader competitive question emerges — one the mortgage industry has not fully confronted. Traditional brokerages recruit loan officers from banking, finance, or prior origination roles. The dual-licensed agent represents a different kind of competitor: one who is embedded in the real estate transaction from the start and may not need to be recruited at all.
Finding a Sponsor
For dual-licensed agents completing the credentialing process, the next immediate challenge is license activation — and that requires finding a sponsoring employer. Kennedy notes that most candidates move quickly toward this step after finishing the exam. “They’re looking for either a nationwide partner or a local company to apply for so they can get their license activated,” he says.
Agents coming from real estate may have a structural advantage here: brokerages with in-house lending operations or mortgage affiliates can serve as natural sponsors, collapsing what is otherwise a separate job search into an existing professional relationship. That integration removes one of the more practical barriers between completing a license and actually originating loans.
It is also worth noting that mortgage loan origination does not require a college degree or a background in finance — only that candidates be at least 18, complete the required coursework, and pass the SAFE MLO national exam. For real estate agents already embedded in the transaction process, that bar may feel lower than expected, which could partly explain why so many are crossing it.
As dual licensing continues to gain traction, the trend raises a question traditional mortgage brokerages will need to answer: whether to recruit these hybrid professionals or compete against them. Agents who can originate loans bring built-in client relationships and deal experience that most first-time loan officers lack — advantages that become harder to ignore as origination activity continues shifting closer to the real estate side of the transaction.
About the Expert: Jesse Kennedy is the Vice President and Director of Operations at 24hourEDU, a mortgage pre-licensing education provider offering the 20-hour national SAFE MLO pre-licensing course with state-specific courses included at no additional charge. The company currently operates in nearly all 50 states, with applications pending or approved across that range.
This article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice. The views and opinions expressed herein reflect those of the individuals quoted and do not represent an endorsement of any company, product, or service mentioned. Readers should conduct their own due diligence and consult qualified professionals before making any investment decisions.
