While the national scale saw reverse mortgage endorsements climb 15.8% year-over-year in Jan-Nov 2013, a new Reverse Market Insight report suggests western states were some of the biggest winners for volume.
California led the way with the most volume nationally, marking a growth of 39% and totaling 8,536 loans year-to-date, according the latest data from RMI released Monday.
The state also four counties in the top-10 for reverse mortgage volume growth (Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside).
Despite Cali’s dominance, it was Arizona that had the largest volume growth during the period, as loans increased 60.9% year-to-date and totaled 1,443.
Volume in The Grand Canyon State was mostly concentrated in Maricopa County, which made up more than half of all loans in the state, notes RMI. This county alone saw reverse volume grow 70.3%—more than any of the other counties among the top-10.
“On the flip side, if you want to succeed in Los Angeles county, you’re better off targeting cities other than Los Angeles itself,” writes RMI in the newsletter.
Of the 136 cities in L.A. County that produced as least one HECM endorsement in 2013, there were 24 of them that produced more loans per age eligible homeowner household than the city of Los Angeles.
As for the competitive landscape among lenders, American Advisors Group held down the top-spot overall in Jan-Nov 2013 with 6,165 loans year-to-date.
One Reverse Mortgage ranked in at second with 5,029 loans, while Security One Lending/RMS ranked third with 4,425 loans, respectively.
Written by Jason Oliva
