Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements were down 3.8% in September, with wholesale taking a particularly large hit, reports Reverse Market Insight’s HECM Originators newsletter.
While retail/direct endorsements declined 2.5%, wholesale performed worse for the fourth straight month, down 6.1%, with a total of 73,086 endorsements.
Source: Reverse Market Insight, HECM Originators for September
Retail numbers will continue to decline, and wholesale performance may continue to be weak.
“That string is certain to be broken next month given the big impact of Wells Fargo’s decline, but it does suggest sustained weakness in the TPO (third party originators) model for reverse mortgages,” says RMI. “The regulatory changes seem the most likely culprit for the change, whether this was the intended consequence or not.”
Wells Fargo, MetLife, and Bank of America continue to lead the pack in terms of market share, with Urban Financial and Generation Mortgage rounding out the top five, accounting for nearly 75% of retail and wholesale share.
The September HECM Originators newsletter is the first look at individual TPO companies for the month, RMI notes, since they’re no longer included in the report HUD puts out the beginning of each month.
A full list of HECM Originators is included in the report.
Written by Alyssa Gerace
