The HECM program changed in a few short years from predominantly fixed rate to adjustable rate, big bank to non-bank lenders, and Fannie Mae to Ginnie Mae financing. Recent changes also include restrictions on the initial draw amount and new Financial Assessment requirements. FHA reports only about 49,000 endorsements for Fiscal Year 2016, compared with nearly 58,000 in 2015. Through October, 2016 issuance is running at about $775 million per month, down from $788 million per month in 2015.

However, on the strength of tail issuance (a record 27 percent of all issuance through October) and highly seasoned pools (a record $939 million), HMBS issuance is almost keeping pace with 2015’s totals. These two market segments are smoothing out the bumps for the reverse mortgage industry during difficult times.