Total reverse mortgage growth rose 2.1% in February, boosted by double-digit wholesale gains and offset by retail loss, according to the latest Reverse Market Insights data.
Retail endorsements shrank 6.3%, but wholesale saved the day and produced overall positive growth with a 12.4% volume increase.
“We’ve seen this pattern before with more volatility in broker volumes than retail and it’s not terribly surprising in light of the higher recent pace of product changes disrupting the industry’s sales and marketing activities,” says RMI. “Since we know March volumes were down and we’re expecting drops in endorsements for another month or two after that, we’ll see how each business channel performs as total industry volume declines again.”
Other highlights in RMI’s HECM Originators newsletter for February endorsement numbers include a a 51.8% growth in wholesale/broker channel volume since the most recent industry volume low in October 2013. In contrast, retail volume has grown 4.1%.
Urban Financial of America is the top lender for wholesale volume, with 51% of loans originated by 318 active brokers on its platform, according to RMI. Liberty Home Equity Solutions has the most active brokers at 758, along with the #2 wholesale ranking.
Other top-5 wholesale lenders include Security One Lending/RMS, Generation Mortgage, and American Advisors Group.
Access the HECM Originators report.
Written by Alyssa Gerace
