Total endorsements for Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) shrank 10.6% in March, with both real and wholesale endorsements shrinking near and in the double digits, according to the latest Reverse Market Insight (RMI) data.
Retail endorsements declined 9.8% while wholesale endorsements fell 11.4% during the month.
“Month to month HECM endorsement volume is always volatile, but the past few months have seen more than the usual jumps in lender rankings and performance,” says RMI. “Blame the overall industry swings in the adjustment to FHA policy changes last year, which is also why overall volume was down -10.6% in March from February.”
Other highlights in RMI’s HECM Originators March 2014 data include Liberty Home Equity Solutions nabbing the No. 1 ranking for a second consecutive month on the back of 1,437 total loans, of which 583 were retail.
American Advisors Group continued to have the highest volume retail group at 656 loans in March and supplemented with wholesale to drive a No. 2 overall ranking.
Other lenders saw big drops, likely due to “endorsement lumpiness” and intense price competition for wholesale loans, says RMI.
View the full report here.
Written by Cassandra Dowell
