Reverse mortgage endorsements dropped 6.7% between August and September, as the industry continues to await the surge associated with the rollout of new principal limit factors.
Home Equity Conversion Mortgage originators — including those approved by the Federal Housing Administration and their non-approved countarparts — turned in 4,591 loans in September, according to the most recent analysis from Reverse Market Insight. That’s a dip of 332 loans from August, which had represented a recent high-water mark amid a steady decline in the spring and summer.
Originations peaked this calendar year in March, with a sizable 5,355, and have been on the general decline since.
The industry is still awaiting the results of the September surge that overwhelmed lenders, brokers, and counselors, who all scrambled to help a wave of borrowers secure loans under the older, more favorable principal limit structure. That uptick might not come until November at the earliest and extend into January, Reverse Market Insight president John Lunde told RMD last month.
Wholesale volume provided a greater strain on the overall numbers, with a 9.1% dip from August. Retail lending slid 4.6%, according to the Dana Point, Calif.-based RMI.
Among the bright spots: Live Well Financial logged a month-to-month gain of 36.5%, with the Richmond, Va.-based lender posting its best month in more than a year.
1st Nations Reverse Mortgage, meanwhile, saw a 126.7% boost; that company’s parent, Huron Valley Financial, purchased Home Point Financial’s reverse mortgage operation back in June, increasing 1st Nations’ headcount by 40 people.
Check out RMI’s full list of statistics.
Written by Alex Spanko
