Category Archives: HECM Originators

HECM endorsements dropped -9.9% to 2,874 loans in September, narrowly missing out on a new monthly low from the product changes one year earlier.

• The decline was broad based, with very little difference between Retail (-9.8%) and Wholesale (-10.1%)
• That said, Retail did set a new low at 1,695 loans which might suggest less of an interest in […]
  

HECM endorsements rose 9.8% in August overall to end at 3,191 loans.

• The pickup was balanced across Retail and Wholesale, up 8.2% and 12.1%, respectively
• We have to look back to January for the last time both channels were up, which is also the peak of loans endorsed under the pre-Oct 2017 rules

The top 10 lenders had […]

HECM endorsements rose 2.6% in July overall to end at 2,907 loans.

• The pickup was entirely in broker/wholesale business, which rose 12.2% after 5 consecutive monthly declines
• Last time broker/wholesale volumes were up was January – volumes in July are down -62.5% from that point
• Retail dropped -3% to 1,737 loans, down -45.5% from January

An interesting picture emerges […]

If you’re looking for our usual HECM Originators report, click the image at bottom to skip straight to the report.

Earlier this month we looked at how recent case number assignment trends compare to prior HECM product changes by FHA. In it, we concluded that even though case numbers issued is at a thoroughly depressing level […]

May’s HECM endorsements rose 0.2% in what we now know was a small calm before the further drop in June.

Fittingly, 5 of the top 10 lenders rose in the mostly unchanged month and as always, some made the most of the choppiness:

• Live Well jumped 39.7% to 176 loans, reclaiming much of the drop in […]
  

HECM endorsements dropped -22.1% in April, with Wholesale again dropping more (-25.6%) compared to Retail (-19.6%).

Some lenders managed a good showing despite the decline:

• One Reverse followed up a modest gain in March with another steady performance, rising 3.8% to 271 loans
• Longbridge recovered some of last month’s drop, growing 1.7% to 119 loans
• Fairway grew 31.9% to […]
  

HECM endorsements dropped -17.3% in March, with Wholesale dropping a stunning -28.7% while Retail slimmed just -6.3%.

Some lenders managed a good showing despite the decline:

• Live Well jumped 36% to 185 loans, rebounding neatly from the February decline
• Nationwide Equities bounced back 37% to recover from an outsized Feb drop
• One Reverse managed a more modest gain at […]
  

HECM endorsements dropped -17.6% in February, split relatively evenly across Retail (-16.9%) and Wholesale (-18.4%) channels.

That level of decline was made up of a lot of lenders, and High Tech was the only top 10 lender to increase in the month, rising 82.9% to 192 loans.

It gets more interesting as we look at our Originator […]

HECM endorsements jumped 32.9% in January, with a huge 56.1% growth in Wholesale tempered somewhat by Retail’s still impressive 16% increase.

As you might expect with surging industry volume, many lenders grew including all of the top 10:

• Liberty tripled, rising 211.1% to 840 loans
• Longbridge increased 88.8% to 355 loans
• Nationwide Equities grew 76% to 132 loans on […]
  

HECM endorsements declined -0.7% in December, with weakness concentrated in Wholesale. Broker volume slipped -4.3% while Retail grew 2.1% to finish the year with 3,716 more loans (14%) than wholesale/broker after the gap shrank all the way down to a mere 12 loans in April.

Many of the largest lenders showed turned in a solid month:

• Longbridge […]