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Category Archives: HECM Lenders

Pulling Up – HECM Lenders Aug 2022

HECM endorsements rose 16.2% in August, after a potentially worrying decline in July.

We don’t have an update yet on case numbers issued past June or endorsement mix in August, but once those are available we’ll be looking closely at new HECM growth and where refinance activity is settling.

On the regional side, 8 of the 10 […]

Picking Up Steam – HECM Lenders July 2022

HECM endorsements shrank -17% in July, as the increases in 10 year CMT rates from earlier in the year flow through the application/funding/endorsement cycle.

A look at the case numbers issued through June shows that 2/3 of the decline on that end of the process is from H2H refinance drops, but 1/3 is from a decline […]

HECM Lenders June 2022

HECM endorsements shrank rose 2.7% in June, bucking the headwinds from rapidly rising 10 year treasury rates so far, to finish with 5,937 loans.

We also saw the May edition of FHA’s Production Report released, showing a -56.3% drop in HECM to HECM refinance case numbers issued from March to May. Coupled with a -21.8% decrease […]

Shifting Forces – HECM Lenders May 2022

HECM endorsements shrank -7.7% in May to 5,783 loans. We have little doubt that the recent rise in 10 year treasury rates influenced that decline, even though case numbers issued (a proxy for HECM applications) show a ~10% increase in HECM to HECM refinance (H2H) volume in March. That’s the most recent case number data […]

Resting Rate – HECM Lenders Apr 2022

April HECM endorsements sagged -3.8% to 6,265 loans – not bad after setting a 10 year high last month. HECM refinances have always been driven more by home price appreciation than interest rate changes, but rising rates do cool things down a bit.

We’d expect slower growth than last year at minimum, but further volume declines […]

No Fooling – HECM Lenders Mar 2022

March HECM endorsements leaped 26.3% to 6,510 loans – and no this isn’t an April Fools joke! This is the highest monthly volume level since March 2011.

All 10 regions were up, and it was anything but the usual western tilt:

  • NY/NY led the way, gaining 50.4% to 206 loans
  • New England shot up 40.8% to […]

Too Soon To Tell – HECM Lenders February 2022

February HECM endorsements dropped -10.7% to 5,153 loans after a roaring start to 2022, yet held above 5,000 loans per month for the third straight month and four of the last five. It looks too soon at this point to call January an anomaly, but if we ignore that there’s remarkable consistency around the 5,000 […]

Starting Stronger – HECM Lenders Jan 2022

After finishing 2021 on the highs, 2022 has started out even higher! HECM endorsements rose 10.6% to 5,771 loans in January, shifting the conversation from a possible fluke in year end volume to wondering how much farther the industry can run in the near term with very favorable home prices, low interest rates, and newfound […]

Consolidating – HECM Lenders November 2021

HECM endorsements inched down -1.5% to 4,953 loans in November, consolidating gains from October with the second highest monthly volume of the year.

Five of the ten regions were up on the month with both of the top two down keeping the industry overall from adding to last month’s gains:

  • NY/NJ rose 8.3% to 157 loans
  • Mid-Atlantic gained […]

Jumping Higher – HECM Lenders October 2021

HECM endorsements jumped 16.3% to 5,029 loans in October, in an emphatic move higher after a swoon in August. As always, it’s best to take a single month of endorsements with a grain of salt since lenders are focused on funding rather than endorsement (that’s where the money is).

Midwest took its turn in the barrel […]