Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements dropped slightly by 7 percent to 2,697 loans for the month of May 2019, indicating remaining uncertainty in the marketplace after encouraging endorsement figures posted last month. This is according to the May HECM Lenders report compiled by Reverse Market Insight (RMI).
“[This drop reinforces] the lumpiness and uncertainty around HECM volumes after an encouraging April tally,” said RMI President John Lunde in introducing the May data. “Most of the larger regions declined but a few of the lower volume regions built on April gains.”
Still, this drop is likely more indicative of a trend of regularity considering where the larger market is currently operating, Lunde said in an email to RMD.
“I’d say this is regular endorsement volatility month-to-month in the context of current trend of around 2,500/month,” Lunde said. “April was high and this one is still above the average from several months previous.”
Regional data highlights for the month of May saw the Midwest region jump 23.1 percent to 213 loans, the highest recorded endorsement level for the region when not including the boosted figures that were adjusting after the disruption of the 2018-19 partial federal government shutdown.
Both the Great Plains and Mid-Atlantic regions also grew over 15 percent each, to 60 and 214 loans, respectively.
Among the highlights for lenders, the recently-closed Live Well Financial winds down its listing as an active lender with a 31.1 percent rise in endorsements over the previous month. Both Longbridge Financial and Synergy One Lending each recorded their highest monthly endorsement activity in over a year, rising 21.4 percent and 9.9 percent, respectively.
Read the full HECM Lenders report for May at RMI for specific breakdowns and detailed regional performance data.
