Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements hit a monthly low in July, down more than 25% from June at 3,868 loans.
The decline is largely attributable to MetLife’s exit from the reverse mortgage business earlier this year, according to a report from Reverse Market Insight, which counts the volume lost from MetLife to be 76% of the monthly drop.
When comparing the drop off of MetLife volume versus the drop from lenders Bank of America and Wells Fargo following their exits from the industry, the MetLife exit shows a more pronounced decline than in the case of Wells Fargo, but the volume is likely to fall off the books completely after July, RMI writes.
Despite the dismal numbers overall, two lenders showed strong growth in July: Generation Mortgage and American Advisors Group. Generation grew its volume 17.6% over the course of the month for 6.7% market share, while AAG grew its business 9.1% for 6.5% market share.
Looking ahead, case numbers issued will be an important indicator of future volume, RMI writes, now that the final MetLife shoe has dropped. The data for June and July is not yet available but, RMI writes, if last month’s application numbers can be matched or grown, the worries about low endorsements will be “significantly lessened.”
View the Reverse Market Insight Report.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
