HECM endorsements increased by 5.4% in August over July in the new look HECM Lenders report from Reverse Market Insight.
The new report replaces the previously named "Retail Leaders," examines lender volume based upon the FHA-approved lender whose name the loans were closed under. For companies acting as sponsors for third-party originators (TPO's), this report includes loans closed on behalf of a sponsored TPO.
The smaller regions of the country continue to outpace the larger regions in terms of percentage growth with the Rocky Mountain, Southwest and Great Plans nearing double digit growth. Fueling the growth are areas such as Minneapolis/Saint Paul (42.8%), Topeka (34.9%), and Sioux Falls (38.6%), compared to larger markets Los Angeles (-3.5%), Chicago (-27.1%) and New York (+3.0%).
Although HECM endorsement volume increased on a month-over-month basis, August volume of 5,807 loans was a 12.6% decrease from August of 2010. The coming months of September and October also represent months where volume dropped significantly in 2010 from a volume of 6,645 in August to an average of 5,600 in the following two months.
The number of active lenders increased in the month by 19, setting a benchmark in the new report of a little over 200 FHA-approved lenders endorsing loans in August. The "HECM Originators" report that will replace the previously named "Wholesale Leaders" will track the origination source of all loans regardless of FHA-approved status.
