HECM volume dropped -3.5% in February to continue the modest decline from the recent high water mark reached in December. What’s notable is how different the two business channels look:
- Wholesale/broker volume grew in February, up 5.4% to 2.092 loans – just 1.5% lower than December volume
- Retail/direct declined -10.3% from its peak in January (one month later than industry overall and Wholesale)
A single month doesn’t make a trend and lenders catching up can distort these numbers in any given month sometimes, but it’s certainly worth watching in the next few months to see if there’s something significant going on in the channel activity.
Now, on to the lenders where there are definitely stories to be had. Just 3 of the top 10 lenders grew in the month even though their collective volume dropped just -1.3%. That covers everything from a -93.4% drop from RMS/Security One (exited origination) to two 70%+ growth stories!
- Liberty seems to have caught up on endorsements in February, jumping 79.9% to 574 loans – a level they haven’t seen since April 2016
- High Tech Lending grew 73.4% to 189 loans, putting the company on track to take the #8 ranking from RMS as early as next month
- AAG also registered a solid rise, at 14.3% to 1,181 loans
Don’t forget to check out the rankings on page 3 (trailing twelve months with channel splits) and page 4 (single month retail only). If your company is not an FHA approved lender, these are the only industry rankings where you’ll appear!
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