Despite record performance for some individual reverse mortgage lenders in 2014, the industry as a whole sank in volume for the fiscal year ending September 30, according to endorsement data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The agency shared its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program data with attendees of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) annual conference in Miami this week, with a final count of 52,000 HECM loans on the books for 2014.
That compares with 60,000 loans in 2013 and falls short of the previous low annual count of 55,000 in 2012.
The effects of 2013 program changes are being felt, HUD says, but perhaps not as much as had been anticipated.
“We feel [the industry] made it better than one might have expected,” said Karin Hill, HUD director of Single Family Program Development, speaking on a panel during the NRMLA conference.
A shift in loan composition away from fixed rate loans was to be expected, she said, but marks a positive improvement in the program from HUD’s point of view.
The composition of loans shifted from 61% fixed rate and 39% adjustable rate in 2013 to 19% fixed rate and 81% adjustable rate in 2014.
“It has been hard to keep up with the changes, but we feel we are starting to see results that are moving us in the right direction,” Hill said.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
