Reverse mortgage volume continued to skirt under the rate of 4,000 loans per month in November, though not by much as the month posted a slight hiccup in loan counts compared to October, according to recent endorsement data.
Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements declined 0.7% in November to 3,891 loans, down from October’s total of 3,919 units, as reported by Reverse Market Insight.
Among the top-10 regions tracked by RMI, growth during November was more tempered than compared to the previous month, when seven of 10 regions saw endorsements increase. In November, however, just five regions reported higher volumes.
New York/New Jersey saw the biggest gain in November, with volume rising 26.9% to 307 loans. The month helped the region finally snap its six-month streak of single-month volumes falling under 300 units, with April being the last time New York/New Jersey exceeded this threshold with 321 loans. On a year-to-date base, volume in the region is down 34% compared to 2015.
November was also a decent showing for the Mid-Atlantic region, whose 315 loans represent a 12.1% increase from the prior month. Year-to-date, volume in the Mid-Atlantic is 31.6% lower than where it was last year through November.
Meanwhile, the Rocky Mountain area, which has been home to the hot Denver market, posted the biggest monthly decline in volume as endorsements fell 24.4% in November to 233 units. Despite the single-month drop, volume is still up 7.5% year-to-date in the region through November, bolstered by a 27.4% increase in the Denver area compared to this time last year.
The share of top-10 lenders experiencing monthly gains in November was similar to that of the top regions, with five companies reporting higher endorsements over October.
Seeing the largest growth during the month, Finance of America Reverse reported 417 loans in November, an increase of 16.6% from October. The company, which ranks second overall in terms of unit count over the 12 months trailing November 2016, now totals 4,194 loans during this time period, according to RMI data.
Reverse Mortgage Solutions/Security One Lending experienced similar growth, seeing a 16.1% monthly uptick to 101 loans—marking the first month since April 2016 that the company cracked triple-digit volume in a single month. For the 12 months trailing November, RMS/S1L totals 2,244 loans.
On the flip side, there were several companies that reported double-digit declines in November, the largest of which was seen at Reverse Mortgage Funding, whose 195 loans were 40.2% lower than the previous month’s total of 326 units.
Nationwide Equities, which also ranked among the top-10 lenders for volume over the past 12 trailing months, reported approximately 20% less loans in November with 95 units, compared to 119 loans in October.
Other top-10 lenders such as Liberty Home Equity Solutions and HighTechLending also experienced similar drops in volume, with each reporting declines of 19.6% and 19%, respectively, during November.
See how other reverse mortgage lenders performed in November and where others rank on the year so far and view the RMI data.
Written by Jason Oliva
