Originators of proprietary reverse mortgages have seen business worsen for three months in a row. On the government-insured side, wholesale reverse lenders have experienced a bigger drop over the past year than retail lenders.
Retail originations accounted for 2,651 of the Federal Housing Administration’s total 4,493 home-equity conversion mortgages that were endorsed during May.
Retail HECM volume improved compared to the previous month, when 2,362 reverse mortgages were endorsed by FHA.
But the channel slumped from May 2013, a month that saw 2,823 retail HECM endorsements.
The production data was reported by Reverse Market Insight.
HECM’s originated through the wholesale channel made up another 1,842 of May’s activity, up from 1,806 a month earlier but well short of the 2,498 wholesale endorsements a year earlier.
While overall HECM production was up between April and May, proprietary reverse mortgage originations have been lower each month since February, when 1,275 proprietary reverse mortgages were closed.
Urban Financial Group retained its No. 1 proprietary reverse mortgage lender title in May with 176 loans closed. But Urban’s volume slid from 239 units the prior month.
No. 2 Liberty Home Equity Solutions Inc. saw originations decline to 123 from 197 in April.
Proprietary activity at American Advisors Group was 99 during the latest month, landing it in the third proprietary spot.
Cherry Creek Mortgage Co. followed with 92 closings, then 81 at Generation Mortgage Co.
