Generation Mortgage has closed shop in Puerto Rico, a market the company entered as recently as May 2011, when it established a retail branch in the U.S. territory with plans to expand there.
Sources within the company confirmed Thursday that Generation will no longer do business there, although declined to comment further.
Generation entered the market in 2011 citing favorable homeownership statistics as well as a population aging more rapidly than in the U.S. Since then, Puerto Rican competitor Money House has expanded in the space, most recently growing its team to include former Urban Financial wholesale exec Sandy Tennekoon as well as some of the company’s wholesale account representation.
Money House, along with Senior Mortgage Bankers, make up the lion’s share of reverse mortgage volume in Puerto Rico. Money House has been public about plans to grow within Puerto Rico and beyond, having recently launched a wholesale channel under the leadership of Tennekoon as well as the signing of Salsa star Gilberto Santa Rosa as its spokesman.
Lenders have touted Puerto Rico as a reverse mortgage growth opportunity, noting several cultural distinctions including high rates of homeownership and lack of expected home inheritance.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
