HECM endorsements fell -14.2% in May, comprised of a -17.5% drop in the larger Retail channel and -9.6% decline in Wholesale/Broker channel.
One interesting point about the decline is that with overall industry volumes at the lowest level since August 2014, Wholesale/Broker volume has held up significantly better in the subsequent 21 months:
- Wholesale average monthly volume since Aug 2014 has been 49% above the low point, compared to just 33% higher for Retail
- Wholesale in May remained 22.9% above the Aug 2014 low while Retail squeaked in just 4.6% above that level
Put it together and you see Wholesale showing more resilience to volume declines lately compared to Retail, underlining the role smaller companies play in the industry.
And as always, a couple companies stood out on our page 4 originator rankings:
- Fairway Independent jumped 12.5% in May and 476% year to date (YTD)
- American Pacific grew 75% in May to bounce into the positive YTD
- Longbridge Financial stacked up 550% more loans in May to cap an impressive 238% growth YTD
And all three companies did it without relying on refinances to boost short term volume. Very impressive to see their hard work paying off.
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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