Mortgage originations are on their way up despite the onset of new rules and regulations, according to a recent survey by MortgageDaily.com. Also included: how top originators thrive in today’s tough market.

Polling 80 respondents from the top 1 percent of U.S. lenders, the Web site used a 50-question survey for those considered “the best of the best.”

The results? Three-quarters of those polled make $250,000 a year, even as many of the same lenders decry mortgage rules and regulations.

Says MortgageDaily.com in a statement on the survey: “The loan officers are highly concerned with the growth of mortgage regulations, though the group has managed to succeed despite stiffer compliance requirements and more cumbersome loan processing.”

The Web site reported survey respondents calling existing referral sources “very effective,” with virtually all of the participating lenders denoting customer satisfaction as “very important” – a contrast with a Leads360 survey released in August that found

only 21 percent of lenders follow up with borrowers within 24 hours of an initial inquiry.

Survey respondents chalked up their gains to innovations like the iPad, smart phones, and social media, which help generate mortgage leads, they say.

Speaking with MReport for a past story, mortgage brokers credited Steve Jobs, late co-founder of Apple, Inc., as responsible for much of the improvement seen in their business environment with the creation of mortgage apps, phones, and other inventions.

Despite recent departures by major lenders from the originations and correspondent lending shares of market activity – notably, Bank of America and MetLife – MortgageDaily.com reported brokers and originators listing correspondent and wholesale lenders in their top third-party lenders.

The survey arrives on the heels of several successive outlooks posted by trade groups and companies from across the industry. The Mortgage Bankers Association more recently forecasted that originations will plummet from $1.2 trillion over this year to $900 billion over the course of 2012.

The trade group said that refinance applications would drop $783 billion over next year, down from $1.1 trillion seen in 2011, with refinance originations dipping to $495 billion in 2012 and 2013.

For a past story, MReport chronicled the efforts of mortgage brokers and loan officers and their strategies to stay afloat in a bad market.

Web site founders, broker-bloggers, and industry veterans underscored the importance of brand management strategies, technology platforms, and news sources like those above for their information.