With major investors exiting the reverse mortgage space, originations of government-backed Home Equity Conversion Mortgages have dropped by 950 to 1,100 loans a month.
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) monthly reports show HECM endorsements totaled around 4,650 in both November and October.
Back in September and August, FHA reverse mortgage endorsement totaled 5,600 and 5,800 respectively.
As previously reported, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and other banks announced earlier this year that they were dropping out of the reverse mortgage business.
Monthly FHA Single-Family Outlook reports also show a similar slide in originations of HECM Savers – which FHA introduced in late 2010. Lenders generally market the Saver to seniors as a less expensive alternative to the traditional HECM product that can also serve as a home equity line of credit.
FHA endorsements of HECM Savers totaled 310 in November and 347 in October. In September and August. FHA endorsed 537 and 538 Savers respectively.
