The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded a contract to technology services firm Phoenixteam as it seeks to upgrade its mortgage underwriting platform, whose capabilities have long lagged those of its peers.
The $49 million deal paves the way for the Arlington, Virginia-based firm to update the Guaranteed Underwriting System at USDA, which offers mortgage products specifically geared toward farming and rural communities. The upgrades are expected to encourage broader mortgage industry interest in USDA’s guaranteed loan program and open up opportunities for affordable housing in more areas, Phoenixteam said.
“This award is about more than technology — it’s about access to homeownership,” said Phoenixteam CEO Tanya Brennan in a press release. “By modernizing USDA’s Guaranteed Underwriting System, we make it easier for lenders to deliver this product, which is often the only path to homeownership for rural families.”
Key among the enhancements coming to GUS is automated uploading of loan applications to USDA — a feature that has long been available on systems at government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Lenders critical of the GUS platform had previously described it as “not intuitive,” “confusing” or “cumbersome,” often requiring manual re-entry of data. Difficulties in understanding how to use the system discouraged some loan officers from originating USDA mortgages, they claimed.
Efforts to update the platform in the years since it first launched in 2006 have been thwarted in the past due to limitations in funding or other resources.
Who are among the leading USDA originators?
While USDA-backed mortgages make up just a tiny percentage of total industry volume, they play an important role in the department’s goals for economic development.
Getting the USDA up to speed with GSE standards will make it easier for lenders to add financing options for rural borrowers and also supports USDA’s mission to create homeownership and wealth opportunities in underserved communities, Phoenixteam said.
The company was founded in 2015 by mortgage technology experts who had previously collaborated at IBM, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Black Knight Financial Services.
USDA offers two mortgage options for homebuyers alongside other loans for repairs and renovations. Guaranteed loan products are made available to borrowers through mortgage lenders, while its direct lien is originated by the department itself.
According to USDA’s rural development office, Guild Mortgage ranks as 2025’s top originator of guaranteed loans when measured by unit volume. The San Diego-based company is followed by D.R. Horton subsidiary, DHI Mortgage. Two Missouri-based institutions, Neighbors Bank and Flat Branch Mortgage follow in third and fourth positions. Newly renamed Fairway Home Mortgage rounded out the top five.
The total number of USDA originations made up a 0.6% sliver of overall lending volume in the country last year, with 36,173 transactions, data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act showed. Combined balances of originations added up to just over $6.4 billion.
By comparison, overall originations across all mortgage types approached 6.2 million units with a balance of approximately $2 trillion dollars.
