A healthy increase in government-insured reverse mortgage originations had new business at the highest level in five months.
In the first month of 2014, the Federal Housing Administration endorsed 5,061 home-equity conversion mortgages.
That was the strongest level of activity since July 2013, when 5,382 HECMs were endorsed.
FHA insured 4,223 reverse mortgages in the final month of last year, while 5,189 loans were endorsed in January 2013.
The report from Reverse Market Insight indicated that January 2014’s HECMs were originated by 243 lenders, fewer than the 279 active lenders in the same month a year earlier.
The biggest of last month’s HECM lenders was Security One Lending/RMS, which closed 954 units. Business at the Walter Investment Management Corp.-subsidiary jumped from 676 endorsements in December.
No. 2 was American Advisors Group, which pushed production up to 734 HECMs from the prior month’s 621.
Quicken Loans Inc.-subsidiary One Reverse Mortgage LLC followed with 470 HECMs endorsed in January, more than the 376 loans closed the previous month.
After that was 351 endorsements at Urban Financial of America LLC. The lender lifted activity from 211 endorsements in December.
No. 5 Generation Mortgage Co. closed 226 HECMs, nearly doubling the 116 endorsements achieved in November.
