Another busy week in the books for the reverse mortgage industry. This week, the Federal Housing Administration announced it would raise lending limits for reverse mortgages, industry members discussed opportunities to simplify key terminology, and marketing experts considered the best strategies to educate the forward lending market.
Needless to say, a lot has happened in the past week. But fear not, because RMD has you covered with the most popular reverse mortgage news stories grabbing readers’ attention.
Get up to speed on the latest industry happenings and check out these top stories from the past few days:
Reverse Mortgage Loan Limit to Increase in 2017—After several years of stagnant reverse mortgage lending limits, the Federal Housing Administration will raise limits “slightly” in 2017, the agency announced Thursday via Mortgagee Letter 2016-19. For Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs), the maximum claim amount will rise to $636,150, up from the current limit of $625,500.
Rate Volatility Cranks Up the Pressure on Reverse Mortgage Lending—Rising short-term interest rates have a minimal impact on reverse mortgage borrowing compared to conventional mortgage lending, but recent volatility in longer-term expected rates is a cause for concern among both reverse mortgage lenders and borrowers alike.
Is the Reverse Mortgage Industry Using the Right Terminology?—As the reverse mortgage industry strives to improve the customer experience for borrowers and their families, there are some aspects of the HECM program that may benefit from simplification, according to several industry members during a recent conference last month.
How Reverse Mortgage Marketing Must Speak to the ‘Forward’ Business—Generally, someone in the market for a conventional mortgage may not necessarily be interested in a reverse mortgage, however, getting information about these loan products into the “forward” lending space is especially important when it comes to further educating the public, as well as traditional loan officers, about reverse mortgages, according to a recent panel discussion among industry marketing experts.
Reverse Mortgage Growth Still a ‘West Side’ Story Despite Sluggish Industry Volume—With only a few months left in 2016, some markets are reporting reverse mortgage volume growth as the industry heads into the final throes of the year. But much of this growth continues to be concentrated in key western and southern U.S. states and cities, industry data suggest.
Written by Jason Oliva
