Led by a 35 percent drop at the nation’s biggest lender, government-insured reverse mortgage production fell back to the lowest level in six months.
Monthly data released by Reverse Market Insight indicated that 6,124 home-equity conversion mortgages were originated last month. It was the lowest volume since October 2010, when 5,279 loans were closed.
HECMs are insured by the Federal Housing Administration.
Volume was worse than 7,306 a month earlier. But business has improved since HECM lenders closed 5,511 units in April 2010.
So far this year, 26,798 HECMs have been originated.
The was no challenge to Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.’s, domination of the retail reverse sector, with the lending behemoth closing 1,253 HECMs in April. But that was a big drop from 1,960 units in March.
No. 2 Bank of America, N.A., closed 896 retail HECMs last month, more than the prior month’s 738.
After that was MetLife Bank’s 616 HECMs, then 423 at One Reverse Mortgage LLC and 243 at Generation Mortgage Co.
The number of approved FHA lenders originating HECMs has tumbled to 1,188 from 1,659 last year.
