The latest data on HECM mortgage-backed securities reveals issuance is down in the third quarter to $1.7 billion – that’s about a billion less than totals from the previous two quarters.

A recent report from New View Advisors shows that there were 14 active HMBS issuers last quarter, and that Reverse Mortgage Funding, American Advisors Group and Finance of America Reverse round out the top three.

New View writes that while HMBS issuance for the first nine months totaled a healthy $7.29 billion, it doesn’t expect a huge uptick any time soon thanks to low origination volume.

“Unless highly seasoned pool issuance returns, expect lower volume for the foreseeable future,” New View stated, adding that “tail issuance will provide some volume (and profit) stability to HMBS issuers to offset this slowdown.”

Another recent New View report noted that September’s issuance totals did rise slightly from the previous month, but called it a far cry from a sign of market recovery. In fact, it’s one of the lowest monthly totals the space has seen in recent years.

“These small, short-term upticks in HMBS production are hardly proof of a recovery,” New View wrote.

Last month, New View’s Michael McCully said HMBS float had fallen below $55.5 billion, on the low end of its recent range, and that payoffs for the last year or more have averaged $1 billion per month.

New View said it expects this trend to continue, predicting float to shrink again as the $1 billion-per-month payoff parade continues.