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Category Archives: HECM Lenders

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 […]

Bounce Back – HECM Lenders September 2021

HECM endorsements bounced back 17.6% to 4,326 loans, with vacation season over and even the latest government shutdown averted (for now).

The regions were almost uniformly higher, with a decline in NY/NJ preventing a clean sweep:

  • Midwest leaped 50.3% to 242 loans
  • Southeast/Caribbean grew 24% to 646 loans
  • Mid-Atlantic added 20.5% to finish at 200 loans

Lenders were almost as […]

Dog Days – HECM Lenders Aug 2021

HECM endorsements dropped -14.3% to 3,679 loans, as it felt like everyone caught up on 2 years of vacation this summer. The drop is a bit concerning given the industry had been above 4,000 loans for 8 consecutive months, but it remains to be seen if this will be a momentary endorsement blip.

The regions were […]

Fashionably Late – HECM Lenders July 2021

HECM endorsements rose 3.2% in July to 4,293 loans, in a slightly delayed release due to system updates at HUD.

While we again saw only 3 of the 10 regions increase volume, all 3 were in the top 5 volume regions and that made all the difference:

  • Pacific/Hawaii jumped 11.2% to 1,643 loans – almost 1,000 loans […]

Smaller Stories – June 2021

HECM endorsements fell -4.4% in June to finish at 4,160 loans, extending the industry’s current streak to 7 consecutive months above the 4,000 loan level.

Just 3 of the regions we track increased volume and it was mostly the smaller volume areas:

  • Last place Great Plains gained 22.7% to 54 loans
  • Second to lowest New England rose 15.5% […]

Winners Run – HECM Lenders May 2021

HECM endorsements grew 3.9% in May, finishing at 4,350 loans.

There’s a saying in the stock market that traders should let winning positions “run,” or continue to perform for you. This month we saw a parallel in the HECM market, as 6 of the 10 regions increased volume on the month and they were 6 of […]