Category Archives: HECM Lenders

HECM endorsements dropped -31.4% to 1,751 loans in December, establishing a second consecutive low point after the FHA product changes took effect in October 2017.

• Last month we wondered if November’s decline was just some volume shifting from HECMs to proprietary, calling that the best case scenario
• This month’s drop looks a lot more like our worst […]
  

New lows, here we are. HECM endorsements dropped -17.4% to 2,553 loans in November, setting a new low after the October 2017 product changes.

• Just one region out of the ten tracked rose and that was the smallest, Great Plains, up 3.2% to 65 loans
• A good example of how far the industry has fallen is Pacific/Hawaii, […]
  

HECM endorsement volume crept back above 3,000 loans in October, rising 7.3% to 3,091.

• 8 of 10 regions were up, with New England leading the way – growing 34% to 126 loans (and a World Series title for extra umph)
• Southwest also fared well, increasing 29% to 360 loans in its highest month since May

Lenders also struck […]

HECM endorsement volume fell -9.9% to 2,880 loans in September, re-visiting the lows from June but not making new ones (yet?).

• 9 of 10 regions were down, with the lone exception in New York/New Jersey which managed to grow 6.6% to 94 loans
• Southeast/Caribbean was the best of the rest, dropping -2.5% to 585 loans

Lenders fared a […]

HECM endorsement volume grew 9.9% to 3,197 loans in August. That’s the third lowest total in the past 12 months but importantly, it’s also the second month of growth since the June total of 2,838.

• All 10 regions were up on the month, with Mid Atlantic leading at 28.2%
• Southeast/Caribbean and Pacific/Hawaii are the two largest regions […]
  

HECM endorsement volume gained fractionally in July, up 0.4% to 2,908 loans. This is the biggest sign yet that HECM volume may have bottomed following the substantial program changes that took effect Oct 2, 2017.

We usually profile different geographies and lenders in this space, but we have enough distance from the most recent principal limit […]

HECM endorsement volume gained fractionally in May, up 0.4% to 3,359 loans. This is the biggest sign yet that HECM volume may have bottomed following the substantial program changes that took effect Oct 2, 2017.

The industry was mixed geographically in May, with 5 of the 10 regions showing gains:

• Southwest led the pack with 14.9% growth […]
  

In case you haven’t been paying attention these last few months, HECM volume is seriously hurting after the Oct 2, 2017 changes from FHA. Volume was down a further -22.2% in April to 3,345 loans.

The question now is whether this is the bottom for endorsements and based on funding data collected through our industry data […]

And now it’s clear that we’re in a post 10/2 world for HECM endorsements. Volume declined -17.3% to 4,300 loans in March, the lowest level since July. It will get worse before it gets better.

Eight of the top ten regions declined, with Pacific/Hawaii suffering the most – a level of symmetry given the region saw […]