Government-insured reverse mortgage production decelerated last month after achieving a nearly seven-year high. Changes to premiums are behind the see-saw activity.
February saw 5,201 U.S. home-equity conversion mortgages that were endorsed by the Federal Housing Administration.
HECM production slowed from the preceding month, when endorsements soared to 6,313 — the busiest month since March 2011.
Reverse Market Insight reported the statistics.
The surge of business in January was the result of HECM borrowers rushing their closings ahead of changes to FHA mortgage insurance premiums.
In February 2017, FHA endorsed 4,426 reverse mortgages.
So far this year,
11,514 HECMs have been endorsed, while the total amounts to 25,558 since FHA started fiscal-year 2018 on Oct. 1, 2017.
Calendar-year-to-date 2018 endorsements were generated by 275 FHA mortgagees, more than the 246 that had been active in the first-two months of last year.
Last month’s endorsements came to 1,183 at American Advisors Group, the most of any lender but fewer than 1,218 in January.
No. 2 Finance of America Reverse LLC saw production fall to 559 units in February from 636
With 498 endorsements, Liberty Home Equity Solutions Inc. landed in third position. Liberty’s prior-month volume was 576 loans.
After that was Reverse Mortgage Funding LLC, where endorsements tumbled to 310 from 591 in the first month of this year.
No. 5 One Reverse Mortgage LLC generated 253 endorsements, fewer than 296 a month earlier.
